If It Was a Fairytale
by escapiism
Summary: The only thing she ever wanted: him. (Once upon a time, anyway.) [s1-s6a au]
1. Heartbreak Girl

**season one** **(or in other words, _the beginning, the middle, and the end_ )**

 **Aghhh... this unhealthy obsession of mine... I tried to get myself to stop writing these two, but I can't help it. This story has been on my mind since I first started to ship Jason and Aria together, and this AU is purely just all the plot bunnies nibbling at my feet. I've made Ezra a little OOC, and, well... _crazy_ , and I'm sorry, I really am, but it's for story purposes. ( _BEWARE OF THE EZRA-BASHING_!) A quick sum-up: Aria and Jason were sort of friends before Alison disappeared, and they sort of had feelings for each other.**

* * *

 **heartbreak girl**

* * *

 _you call me up (it's like a broken record)  
saying that your head hurts  
that you never got over him getting over you  
and you end up crying  
and i end up lying  
_ _ **— 5sos**_

* * *

Aria Montgomery had never been a big believer in _love_. The whole concept, to be honest, had never quite _reached_ her heart in the way it did for other teenagers, because _they_ did not, for even a second, think that not every guy is all... _Prince Charming_ , or _Aladdin_ , or whatever. It just wasn't... _her_. Yeah, sure, she had crushes, but she knew they were just silly little one-time things that never really lasted. Anyway, most of her crushes were only for the sake of Alison, who was the queen of Rosewood High, who also happened to be her best friend. Being plucked from obscurity amongst three other not-so-popular girls, Aria had been somewhat… _forced_ to change. If she hadn't, Alison was sure to drop her and send her back to shaving Barbies.

That no longer appealed to her so she became a carbon copy of Alison herself, changing her sense of style, makeup, god, she even _strutted_ like the girl. Aria 'crushed' on several _okay_ -looking boys (Prince Charming, Aladdin, _yeah right_ ), leading some on whilst not feeling _anything_ for them.

But she never _did_ anything.

She still just... _didn't get it_. The point of _love_ , like Romeo and Juliet, or Hazel and Gus, or goodness knew who. Although something deep, deep down always reminded her of her love for fairytales and 'happily ever after's. Aria wanted a boy in her life – a boy who wouldn't treat her like dirt, but instead love her, see her as his whole word. He would be just like a prince, and he'd treat her like his princess. But at each crush, she realized that none of them would ever be like Prince Charming.

That was, until she met a certain green-eyed boy who took the name of Jason DiLaurentis.

At first, just like all the others, she felt nothing with him. In fact, at first, she _hated_ him, even _before_ she met him: Aria knew Jason was Ali's mysterious older brother – and she knew he was a drug and alcohol addict. And she knew that that was never good news.

Then she got to know him and he seemed… different to all of those stories Ali had so elaborately told him (Ali had them convinced he was a drug-dealer in some relationship with a Brazilian model).

Of course, after hanging out with him, she knew that those stories were all make-believe, which, if she was honest, wasn't really a surprise. Ali was always one for make-believe.

Jason would ask her once in a while why she was even friends with Alison and she'd reply, laughing, "She's not so bad". In actual fact, they laughed a _lot_ together, and laughing always meant a good thing... right?

And that was when Aria found herself falling for him. For the drug addict brother of Alison, the one behind the locked door and beer bottles and cannabis. The boy who played his music a little too loud; the boy who could never love a girl.

She then started trying to avoid Jason, but her instincts were not having it (he actually _listened_ , and no one else did that, anyway). So she stuck by with talking to him, as her feelings for him grew more and more as the days went by.

(And what a disaster it was.)

One day, they shared a kiss. She certainly hadn't been expecting it, especially not from an older, more experienced guy who also happened to be the 'forbidden' brother of her best friend, who also happened to be one _fantastic_ kisser. To say she enjoyed it would be an understatement, because it was bloody amazing – after all, first kisses were always unforgettable.

But Ali saw them – and to say she was mad was also an understatement.

 _"He's got a girlfriend, you know. And he's gross, he's a_ stoner _, and he's definitely not interested in_ you _,"_ Alison had said, eyeing her pink streaks and body figure, which had made Aria want to shrink down and just disappear. Ali had the knack for doing that – that was why there were so many people in the world who downright _hated_ her. _He'd never fall for a little, immature girl like_ you _. And haven't you learned from me already? Jason is a terrible person. And kissing you – that was probably for pure amusement._

After that one kiss, everything went back to normal. They were friends – _just friends_. (Sort of.)

But then it all changed. Alison went missing and all was forgotten. Aria saw Jason _once_ before she moved to Iceland, and he seemed… destroyed. Broken. Shattered.

And so Aria realised, just as before – fairytales, who believed in such nonsense anyway? He had been nineteen, she fifteen. It never would have worked out anyway. But she longed for a second chance, she did, she did. Maybe she'd get him to change, and maybe she'd be able to tell him. Maybe… maybe in the off chance, he could feel the same way. After all, it had been _him_ who leaned in first.

But they were separated by hundreds and hundreds of miles, and Aria knew that she wouldn't ever get a 'happily ever after' with him. But it was a long shot anyway. And _fairytales are little pieces of bullshit_.

But not everything can be avoided. When Aria returned from her year-long trip from Iceland, there was her, hanging on the tiny pieces of hope, ever so gently, almost innocuously.

But he was gone.

And it wasn't just the second chance that dissolved right before her eyes, but the fact that they would never be able to laugh and be free again. They'd never be able to share an inside joke, or tear the mickey out of the bitchy girls at their school (Ali included), or just... _be_ together.

 _They'd never be friends again._

She was confused. Confused to the reason why he'd never bothered contacting her, never bothered saying a proper goodbye. After all, they had each other's numbers, as well as him having a million and one opportunities to just… text her.

So for not much reason, Aria felt angry. The one guy… _the one guy_ who would've actually stood a chance… gone.

And with her thoughts still all clouded with Jason, Jason, and Jason, she made a reckless mistake. Making out with a stranger? _Absurd_. Taking sweets from them was one thing.

But in the moment, she didn't care, although she should have. Who knew what trouble it would cause her?

She should've known what the consequences would be, or at least sensed them. Ezra ended up being Mr Fitz – her new AP English teacher.

Now, not only was Jason on her mind, but _Ezra_. The stranger, and her teacher. But god… If _anybody_ found out…

* * *

Class droned on. Aria droned out. She looked ahead.

Her phone buzzed and she discreetly took it out.

 **Maybe he fools around with students all of the time. A lot of teachers do. Just ask your dad.** **  
**— **A**

And somebody _had_ found out. _A lot of teachers do. Just ask your dad._

Her mind flashed with different memories. At first she found herself thinking about the time she and Ali had seen her dad making out with a woman who _wasn't_ her mom. Then she thought about how she had longed to tell her mother. Then to when Alison taunted her about it. Then to… Jason. How she'd been able to open up to him and how she could trust him. How he was there for her. _Was_ there for her.

* * *

 _"I can't believe you'd do that. You're my_ friend _!" Aria shouted at Ali._

 _"I_ am _your friend, sweetie. That's why I'm doing this," Ali simply smiled her sickly smile._

 _Aria shook her head and let the first tear drop out of her eyelids. She turned on her heel and ran down the stairs, her face in her palms while being able to bump into someone._

 _"Aria?"_

 _Aria looked up to see the 'someone' she had bumped into was Jason._

 _"Oh, Jason, hey…" Aria wiped her tears hastily and took a deep breath._

 _"Aria, are you okay?" Jason looked down at the tiny girl, concerned. "What happened?"_

 _Aria found herself crying again. She trusted him (just about). "Your sister has a funny way of showing friendship."_

 _Jason opened his mouth but no words came out. Instead, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder._

 _"What did Alison do?" he said, his gentle voice somehow hypnotizing her._

 _Aria just stared down at the ground, determined that her feelings would not get the better of her – especially now._

 _"Aria. Tell me," he said, his voice now firm._

 _Aria looked up and found his eyes – beautiful pools of light and dark green._

 _"Do you promise not to tell anyone?"_

 _"I promise._ Pinkie _promise," Jason reached his hand out to gently stroke her pink streak, earning a shaky laugh from Aria._

 _So Aria told him. From finding her dad..._ doing _stuff with a grad student, to what Alison had said to her just now. He listened – he was a good listener._

 _"I'm sorry. I really am. You don't deserve that," Jason started. "Not now. Not ever."_

* * *

"Aria Montgomery?"

Aria's thoughts were interrupted by Mr Fitz, who towered over her, like a castle. She realized that half the class was already gone.

"S-sorry, got lost in my own thoughts," Aria said nervously, covering it up with a girly giggle that good lord she hoped sounded convincing.

"Um, well, can I speak with you?" Ezra asked, drumming his fingers on his folder.

Aria hesitated, deciding on the better option. "I'm really sorry but… I… I can't… I have to go…'

"What?"

She knew Ezra was mad as hell at her, but Aria really wasn't ready to talk about how she made out with him, and what would happen next. Right now, she needed coffee, a book and a nice comfy bed.

* * *

Aria tried her best to avoid Ezra, or _Mr Fitz_ as much as possible. She skipped English as much as she could or just simply told him she had somewhere to be. It was partially true – she needed to be anywhere _except_ near him. And especially after that A text, he scared her.

But she knew it wouldn't last. She couldn't avoid him forever, especially with exams and thoughts of college lurking around the corner. She would have to face him eventually.

And when Ali's body was found under the gazebo, after one long year, her world came crashing down.

 _That_ was when she realized that it wasn't just exams or college lurking around the corner – _anything_ was lurking around the corner. True, Alison had been anything but a good friend to her in the past but… she didn't deserve to die that young. Not at fifteen.

Aria had reunited with Hanna, Emily and Spencer at the funeral and she'd confessed about everything, making out with Ezra, avoiding him and then all that A nonsense. They'd been good listeners, just like Jason, and admitted that they too were being targeted by A.

"So what do we do?" Hanna asked the other girls, nervousness evident in her voice.

"Not do anything stupid so A can stop tormenting us?" suggested Emily.

"It's not only what _we_ do," Spencer began. "Although this… A likes to hold that over our heads a lot. It's… secrets. Dirty little secrets that only Ali knew about."

Trust Spencer to fit it all together. But this was no jigsaw puzzle, it was a terrifying game. Whatever game or jigsaw it was, Aria had done looking for the corners.

"I don't know about you guys," Aria said. "but I've already had enough of A holding what we do over our heads. I can't hide from Ez – I mean _Mr Fitz_ forever. I'm going to talk to him."

So as good as her word, she went to her first English class in at least a month and she endured the whole lesson, even looking Ezra in the eye. But as the clock struck two, her heart had started thumping rapidly. She was not looking forward to this. Repeat: _she was not looking forward to this._

She remained in her seat when the bell rang.

"Aria," Ezra nodded at her, edging closer.

Aria smiled back politely. "I've decided I will talk to you. I know I can't hide forever."

Ezra looked at Aria and gave her a genuine smile. He walked to the door and locked it, as well as pulling down the blinds.

"First of all… did you tell anyone?" Aria asked. How else would A have known about them two, if one of them hadn't told anyone else?

"That I made out with a sixteen-year-old girl who then happened to be my high-school student?" Ezra shook his head in disbelief. " _Really_ , Aria?"

"What's going to happen then? We can't carry this, whatever this is… or was… or – shit, I'm your _student_."

Ezra stopped, before turning to fully face her. Then:

"Well, no one needs to know." Ezra smirked widely.

Aria couldn't believe her ears – what had Ezra just said? That he wanted to have a relationship with her? No, no, no, this was wrong, way too wrong. But before she could respond, Ezra had crashed his lips on hers.

"What the hell!?" But it didn't come out of Aria that way; whatever Aria had wanted to say died out and was replaced by muffled screams and wails. She tried to get her lips of Ezra's but he was just too strong. When he reached down to unbutton her top, she decided enough was enough – but still he was too strong. Now he was groping, and kissing her even rougher. Aria let the first batch of tears flow down her cheeks. She had never been so intimate with someone before – and it hurt. _God, it hurt so bad_. When she felt his tongue slide into her mouth, she bit down hard causing him to screech loudly in pain.

"You mental _bitch_!"

"You're the mental one!" Aria hastily buttoned up her shirt and stormed out the classroom, crying her eyes out.

She ran back home, and yet her heart was still beating like crazy from what happened with Ezra. Her teacher, her own freaking teacher, had basically _raped_ her!

She collapsed on her bed and started sobbing uncontrollably. This – this wasn't how fairytales ended. This – this wasn't remotely close to how it should go.

She heard her phone beep once, then twice, then four more times. Turning on her side, she reached out for it.

 **Are you okay? Did it go alright? Are you still with him?** **  
** **—** **Em**

 **Hey, you okay? We're getting worried.** **  
** **—** **Hanna**

 **Where the hell are you? Wait, no, we're coming to yours.** **  
** **—** **Spencer**

Aria sighed heavily. The rest of the texts were probably just more _I'm worried, where the actual fuck are you?_.

 **Please don't tell. You can't tell ANYONE.** **  
** **—** **Ezra**

At that, she let out more tears. He was such a _jerk_ – why had she thought he was so harmless, so… genuine and nice? _Looks can be deceiving_ , was the only thing that came to Aria's mind.

With a heavy breath, she decided to open the final text. _With attachment._ Confused but curious, she opened the picture first.

 _Oh my god_ , a voice inside of her head screamed.

It was a picture of Ezra pushing himself on top of Aria, kissing her roughly.

 **This it what happens when good girls play bad, Heartbreak Girl.** **  
** **Following in your father's footsteps?** **  
** **I see...** **  
** **—A** **  
P.S – First my brother, now your teacher? Didn't you ever learn?**

Just then, her bedroom door bust open and in came Hanna, Spencer and Emily, the same expressions on their faces.

"Aria!" Spencer shouted, pulling the tiny girl into a hug. "What the hell happened with him? Are you okay?"

Aria shook her head. "Let's just say… my plan… my plan backfired."

"What did he do to you?" Hanna asked.

With shaky hands, Aria handed them her phone and gave them the picture.

"Oh my _fucking_ god! We need to take this to the police, Aria, he almost _raped_ you!" Emily yelled. "Or… he… no…"

"Stop! He _didn't_ ," Aria covered her ears. "I don't want to go to the police and tell them. I don't want to tell them anything. I just want to pretend like it never happened. Please."

"Aria, this is _not_ something we can just ignore. This is a criminal offence – he's your _teacher_."

"And do I want to go by the name of 'the girl who got raped by her teacher'? Do I? Because I know for sure _I_ don't," Aria wiped her tears. "Please, I don't want anyone else knowing. Leave it alone… I'll… I'll handle it myself. Just… don't say anything, okay?" Although it took a while, Aria finally managed to convince her friends not to tell anyone about the incident between her and Ezra.

* * *

Eventually, Aria was able to forget about what had happened. Ezra left Rosewood High the following day – he might've apologized to Aria, but Aria never wanted to see his face again.

That experience – it had shaken her up and made her wake up from rainbows and ponies, to be aware that not all things were perfect. In the real world, the dark, real world, anything could happen. From A, to murders, to all the Ezras in the world – she had to be careful. Around _everyone_. And she wasn't even going to make Jason an exception.

(Because fairytales are perfect, but the world is not. Glass slippers break, and vines build up like castle walls.)

* * *

 **Okay, first chapter. As I have said before, I am also not proud of how Ezria ended in this... :(**

 ** _Buuuut_ , Jason will be in next chapter and Ezra might appear in future ones...**

 **Quick note: For earlier readers, I have completely changed this, because I thought if I didn't, it would seem like Jason and Aria got together way too quickly.**


	2. New Beginnings

**Thank you for the reviews, _littlelyingmilly, Boris Yeltsin_ and _TridentOwl_!:))**

 **Season 1 Jason was played by someone else (Parker Bagely, I believe?) so just pretend it's Drew Van Acker because he makes a perfect Jason ;)**

 **This chapter is loosely based on the Jaria scenes from the books – they hook up in _Flawless_ or something along those lines (Book 6, I think), although Jason ends up being such a jerk. And the rock-climbing date was in the book as well – I'm not _that_ crazy...**

* * *

 **new beginnings**

* * *

 _the world is broken into fragments and pieces  
that once were joined together in a unified whole  
but now too many stand alone  
there's too much separation  
_ _— **tracy chapman**  
_

* * *

To say that life had gone on was an understatement.

Soon, all was forgotten – everything with Ezra, _forgotten_. _Thrown away_. _Gone_.

Aria was glad – although reporting it to the police would have been the last resort anyway, especially with both A _and_ Ezra's messages, Aria was glad her best friends were also able to forget.

And it was only a matter of time until they were able to forgive – not only them, but her herself.

* * *

"Is that…" Emily started as they stood by the bus stop nearing Rosewood High. Aria looked up and saw Emily squinting at a _very_ familiar looking man with long-ish dirty blonde hair and striking green eyes. She almost gasped.

She _knew_ that man.

"Jason?" Aria said, as realization finally dawned on her. "What is Jason doing back here in Rosewood?" Her heart thumped – he was back. The guy she thought had left for good was unmistakably standing about ten feet away from them.

"I don't know…" Spencer saw Jason walk towards them, causing her, Emily and Hanna to back away a little bit. Aria looked at them in confusion, wondering why they did so.

"Jason?" Aria asked him, as he stopped by them.

"Aria," Jason beamed at her, before looking at her hair. "Your pink hair!"

Aria fiddled with her hair – the lock where the pink once was. "Well, I guess I got sick of the colour." Jason smiled again and then turned to look at the other girls.

"Spencer," Jason nodded at Spencer. He then looked over at the other girls "Emily. Hanna. Right?"

"Yeah..." Emily said, somewhat slightly nervous. "Um, no offense but… why are you here? In Rosewood."

"Well, I'm here to organize Ali's memorial and...I was going to ask you guys for help." Jason showed a sad look on his face which made Aria's heart melt. He quickly covered it up with a smile, although it seemed unconvincing. "My parents...they basically just threw the memorial on me so..."

"Oh," Spencer said, with no hint of sympathy. "And you're asking _us_ for help?"

"Well... you five were _very_ close. You knew Ali better than I did." Jason sighed. "Than anyone did." he added at the end.

"We'll help," Aria smiled, and she was so damn tempted to squeeze his hand and place her lips over his very, very _kissable_ ones.

"Thanks," Jason looked relieved. "Do you... do you girls want to meet me at the Brew or something soon?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, sure... text us," Aria said. Jason put his hands in his pockets and left the four girls, nodding at them politely as he took off. Aria watched him walk away, and wondered how on earth she'd been able to speak to him again without melting into a puddle. Hanna, Emily and Spencer looked at Aria strangely.

"How can he text us when he doesn't have our numbers?" Hanna asked. "Maybe have a little common sense, Aria? I mean, we can't just go and ask him… He's… scary…"

"Oh, I have his number. Unless he's changed it..." But Aria wasn't too focused on that – she was more hung over how Hanna thought _Jason_ was _scary_.

"What?" Spencer put her hands on her hips. "When? How? Why?"

Aria shook her head, as well as shaking the questions off. "Maybe if you stopped playing detective, you'll realize we missed the first ten minutes of second period."

" _What_?" Aria couldn't help but laugh at Spencer's expression as they walked back into Rosewood High. Aria's phone buzzed and she checked for a message.

 **The Brew at 5pm? Can you make it?** **  
** **—Jason**

"Who is it?" asked Spencer, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Jason," mumbled Aria. "He wants to meet at the Brew at five? Can you guys make it?"

* * *

Aria sighed as she approached the Brew. It was exactly five and she could see no one she knew in sight. Hanna was not going to be able to make it – sudden shift of events, she had to do some dentist patrolling for Mrs Ackard. Aria just hoped Spencer and Emily wouldn't cancel last minute.

"Aria?"

Aria whipped her head around to see Jason looking, if she was honest, _flawless_ in a dark blue button-up shirt and matching dark jeans.

"Jason, hi," Aria said brightly.

"Hey," Jason looked behind her. "Are the rest coming?"

"Um, Hanna can't. She's with her… boyfriend." That's what Sean was to Hanna, right? And it was technically true, after all, the reason why she was currently working at a dentists was to pay the debt for crashing her boyfriend's car when he refused to have sex with her. But if she told Jason that, he'd probably just run away, and Aria was sick of people ignoring her. Aria's phone beeped again and she saw two new messages from Emily and Spencer, both cancelling for some last minute rendezvous. "Oh, wow, and now Spencer and Emily can't either." she finished sarcastically.

Jason nodded slowly. "So... I don't think there's much point starting the planning now..." he paused. "Do you just want to go inside and grab a bite or something?'

Aria smiled genuinely. "Yeah. That sounds great."

As they sat down, Aria noticed how nervous Jason was looking.

"Jason?"

"You must hate me. I just... pushed you away. At the time, I didn't care if we were friends or not. I was just too mad and upset... I'm sorry I never said a proper goodbye…" Jason started.

"It's fine…" But her mind was thinking otherwise. It _hadn't been_ fine – it had hurt her. "I guess we weren't _exactly_ friends." _Friends with benefits_? _Acquaintances_? Aria laughed. "And no, I don't hate you."

Jason laughed along. "No, I guess we weren't _exactly_ friends. Most of the time we talked was me asking you why on earth you were friends with Ali."

"And how I had substance," Aria noted.

"No," Jason corrected. "how you were the only one out of the power puff clique who actually _had_ substance."

Aria took a second to break down what he said, and she laughed. "Jason, they mean the same thing."

Jason reluctantly nodded. "I guess... well, I'll put it this way. You were the only girl out of the gang who didn't want to be a carbon copy of my sister; you didn't listen to everything she said. You were different – you stood out."

Aria grinned. "Yeah, that sounds a lot better." God, she missed this. She missed having a laugh with Jason. _Maybe we could start again_ , she thought, _as friends_.

"I missed you," Jason placed a hand on her hand. "I mean, I didn't even know you were in Iceland until you moved back but... I still missed you. I missed talking to you, laughing with you."

"I missed you, too." And it was true, with Jason, she hadn't felt so... carefree.

"You were the only person who actually listened to me. And... that meant a lot," Jason admitted. "Even if I was high or drunk off my ass... you still listened."

Aria shrugged. "You weren't as horrible as Ali pictured you."

"Oh, I can only _start_ to imagine what Ali pictured me as," Jason paused for a little while before speaking up again."It still seems so unreal, you know... how she's gone. She was so alive, so... I don't know, _real_. I'm still waiting for that time when she jumps out and laughs in our faces, telling us she's alive and we're stupid..."

Aria hitched her breath. "Jason..."

Ali's death had affected Jason, she knew that. And seeing him like that… it really made her heart ache for him. He'd lost a sister – his only sister. The thought of Alison triggered something, and asking him about would be tactless, god, but at that moment, she just... _had_ to know.

"You kissed me," she started without warning. "before Alison... er..."

She'd expected him to deny it and go, _what? I kissed a fourteen-year-old?,_ but instead, Jason nodded slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I did." he paused. "And you kissed back."

Aria found herself also nodding. "I did."

Not much was said after that, and she refrained herself from blurting out a _why?_ , and instead they talked about the weather and college and school, and Aria managed to try looking interested, although her mind was chanting, _why?_ , _why?_ , _why?_

When they left the restaurant, Jason turned to Aria.

"We should do this again... just us two, you know, keep our minds off Ali," Jason said.

"I would love that," replied Aria (and it was more than just the truth).

* * *

And good was his word – they met again, several times over the course of the days, when they weren't planning the memorial.

She realized how much she had missed it. And she realized how much she missed _him_. Maybe a little too much.

Aria had given up on fairytale love story ages ago, but here she was, doing the inevitable – she was falling in love with him all over again.

But little did she know that he was doing the same.

* * *

"Rock-climbing?" Aria asked Jason incredulously. "When I said I liked rock-climbing, I didn't think you'd _actually_ take me rock-climbing."

Jason laughed at her horrified expression. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't stop talking about it. What was it… twenty gold certificates?"

Aria tiptoed and whispered, "See, I've never actually _been_ rock-climbing before."

"I know," Jason smirked. He bent his head down and whispered in her ear, "I've never actually heard of Charlotte Perkins-what's-her-name either. And I wasn't really the book president at Rosewood High. But anyway, you'll be _fine._ "

"Promise?" Aria pressed.

" _Pinkie_ promise," Jason confirmed and Aria finally agreed, hopping onto the first rock of the wall.

When she had climbed the last rock, she jumped down and started laughing profoundly.

"What's the matter?"

"I thought I'd climbed like, a thousand miles, but I've actually climbed about five-and-a-half metres!"

"Achievement," Jason noted.

"Yeah..." Aria looked around and suddenly saw a girl who looked freakishly like Alison. Same body figure, same wavy golden locks. And when the girl turned around, Aria's breath hitched. From her icy blue eyes to her small line of freckles to her big pouty lips and heart-shaped face – same _face_.

"You okay?" Jason asked her, concerned.

"Yeah... yeah, I just thought I saw... never mind." _You must be going crazy_ , she thought to herself, _yep, definitely, completely, utterly insane._

"Who?" Jason asked, not quite letting the thought go. "Who… did you think you saw?"

"I thought I saw... Ali… but never mind, it was probably just another blonde. There are plenty of other blondes around town," Aria shrugged it off.

But that girl looked _exactly_ like Alison. She didn't blame Jason when he too searched around the place.

"Yeah... Just another blonde," he mumbled.

They walked out in silence. _How I want to kiss him_ , Aria thought. Those childish feelings from years ago had returned in a blast, challenging her mind; her conscience; her sanity. Her _everything_ , really.

But before she could even consider thinking about it, Jason had bent down and pressed his lips on hers. The kiss… it was chaste, it was sweet, it was just… _right_.

His lips… they were so _soft_. They were so… god, she couldn't even think.

When they pulled apart, Jason mumbled a quick, "Sorry."

"Don't be," Aria replied, still stunned that her childhood crush had just initiated a kiss between them. Her lips tingled and she moved her nimble fingertips over them.

"This doesn't change anything, right?" Jason stuttered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. If he'd just ruined things between them… "We're still friends?"

Aria nodded, although her inner-self was shaking, wanting the opposite. Aria… she felt… god, what did she feel? It was funny how a single guy could make her feel so many different things in so many different ways. "Sure. Friends."

"Well, um, bye, I guess," Jason waved at her, his mind still racing, his heart still pacing. He too was too stunned to think – only one thing was on his mind – _the kiss, the kiss, the kiss_. "See you at the memorial."

"You will," Aria smiled gently before walking down the street. Aria was having a very difficult time to think about anything except Jason.

Her heart fluttered and her lips were _still_ tingling – she was... melting, almost.

Euphoria rushed to her mind as she suddenly felt nostalgic – he had kissed her once before. And now, he'd kissed her _again_.

* * *

 **...or am I?**


	3. In Memory of Ali

**Thank you all for your positive response:)) This chapter may seem a little rushed – and I'm sorry!:( But Writer's Block is a bitch, you know that? One huge, mighty bitch.**

* * *

 **in memory of ali**

* * *

 _we ruled the world  
i thought i'd never lose her out of sight  
we were so young  
i think of her now and then  
— **swedish house mafia**_

* * *

Since their awkward kiss, Aria hadn't spoken to Jason. She wasn't quite sure what was going to happen between her and Jason – here she was, wanting more… but did he?

Suddenly, all old feelings were resurfacing, stronger than ever. They were so strong – _too_ strong – that she couldn't possibly push them away. Back then she was young and reckless, an immature pre-teen, but now… now she was older, and she was able to face facts. She liked Jason – as a little more than just a friend.

He was constantly in her mind – and she couldn't concentrate. Her mind was in such a flurry, keeping up with school was even a problem.

Especially, though involuntarily, with Noel Kahn suddenly wheeling an obsession with her. Countless times he had asked her out, countless times she had declined, although sometimes she had the mind to say yes, just so she could shut his stupid mouth up.

But he was one of those boys who she felt absolutely _nothing_ with.

* * *

Aria sat down with a notebook in one hand, and coffee in the other. She counted ten, eleven, _twelve_ times she crossed out the words on the paper.

Making a speech up – why was it so hard? Aria was a writer, an okay writer, but here she was, with a completely blank mind as well as a completely blank page.

Picking up her pen again, her mind wandered back to all the _good_ times she had with Alison. Alison had been a great friend… at times. She liked to solve problems, and Aria guessed that was the reason she seemed so bitchy. She wrote down the first few words.

 _I remember Alison as the cheery, beautiful girl who I called my best friend. She was a great friend. A fixer_ _—_

Then Aria crossed it all out. Ali _wasn't_ a fixer. Giving credit to her for trying to break her parents up would just be one big, fat _lie_. She aggressively ripped the paper out and through it on the ground, stamping on it with her klunky boots.

The door then creaked magnificently, and she was drawn to the very man who had just walked through.

Unmistakably, Jason had just entered the Brew.

Fate really did have a funny way of doing things.

Aria waved to get his attention and he smiled, making his way towards her. His gaze flickered to the ground, where the piece of paper lay dead, in shreds.

"Oh, um… you okay?" he asked, hiding the amusement in his voice.

"I'm fine…" Aria muttered. "It's just… writing a speech is way harder than I expected. I like to write… and it should come naturally but… I just _can't_."

"Hey, it's all right," Jason said. "Speeches are very different to novels."

"It's not that, it's just…" she paused. "I feel terrible saying this but… I don't know what to write about her."

Jason sighed. "As I said, it still feels so… unreal."

Aria nodded, glad Jason hadn't taken it the wrong way. If she was being completely honest – she couldn't find something _positive_ to write about Ali.

She sucked on the lid of her biro, scrawling down quickly and messily.

 _Alison DiLaurentis. She was girl of many mysteries, a girl that sometimes I wasn't able to understand. But she was also my best friend, a girl I loved, and a girl who I could see right through. We used to pretend all the time we were some mind-reading freaks – I still remember that pathetic Magic 8 Ball we used to play with. The fact she mysterious… that was what made her Ali. And I can't imagine another Alison._

Tears, for some reason, were brimming in her eyes. She tore her gaze from her notebook and saw Jason on his phone. Jason met her eyes and smiled.

"I just got a text," he said quickly, pointing at his phone. "And I'd love to stay and talk, but I need to dash. I'll just grab some coffee and go." he waved. "Bye, I guess I'll see you soon."

Aria waved back whole-heartedly, before returning her thoughts to the speech. The damned _speech_.

* * *

"Alison DiLaurentis. She was girl of many mysteries, a girl that sometimes I wasn't able to understand. But she was also my best friend, a girl I loved, and a girl who I could see right through. We used to pretend all the time we were some mind-reading freaks – I still remember that pathetic Magic 8 Ball we used to play with. The fact she mysterious… that was what made her Ali. And I can't imagine another Alison. The Alison I knew never gave up. She solved her own problems, she was good at that. She was brave. Very brave. She was… the strongest, bravest most head-strong person I ever knew." she paused. "Ali was a great friend. She made me laugh, she made me smile, god, when she smiled…

"She was also a good listener. She listened to my problems and like she solved her own problems, she solved mine too. Ali never limited herself – she knew that she could do more, even before she started. That's what I learnt from her. _You can be more than you already are_. And now… it still feels… fake. My Ali was always so alive, my Ali was always so lively and bubbly and cheery and funny and… Alison… if… if you're listening to this crazily sappy speech… just remember that… you brought so much _life_ into my world. And… I really miss you."

Aria stepped down, aware that all eyes were on her. She took a seat next to Spencer and looked back at the small stage. Her heart was pounding and her chest was heaving. This speech – it was the first real connection with Ali she had felt. She finally felt like she was gaining closure. She missed her, and now she was getting over it.

She thought the speeches were over, seeing as all her best friends had all gone and done theirs. But then, of all the people she would have thought, came up… _Jenna Marshall_.

"Jenna?" Aria whispered.

Jenna walked up, holding and bashing her stick everywhere while smiling sweetly at everyone. She turned her head at the girls, and even with those large black glasses covering her eyes, they felt like they were being watched. The girls stiffened – here was Jenna Marshall, and she was going to tell everyone about 'The Jenna Thing'. _Here comes prison_ , Aria thought, _lucky Ali, dead before she could get thrown in the cells._

Jenna brought the microphone up to her height, before speaking in the utter silence.

"We think we know who we are, but we don't. Not until something bad happens to us. And then all of the useless things fall away, and we're left with who we really are. I learned that from Alison DiLaurentis."

 _And here it comes_ , the girls thought.

"My whole life, I thought I knew who she was, but I found out the truth when she came and talked to me at the hospital."

The girls stopped. Jenna… being visited by… _Alison_. This was untrue, it had to be untrue, for there was no reason for Ali to visit a girl blinded by her own handiwork. And for a girl she hated with a passion…

"I found out that she was the strongest person that I had ever met, and it's her strength that touched so many people, shaped them. That's her real legacy. That's how her memory will endure. In the action of those who she inspired in so many different ways. From all of us… thank you Alison."

Although confused beyond belief, Aria and the others sighed in relief. Jenna _hadn't_ spilled _anything_ about 'The Jenna Thing', like they had anticipated. Except… what she had said had made the girls re-consider Alison and Jenna's relationship. Maybe they weren't the enemies they had made out to be.

As they stood up to leave, Aria saw Jason in the corner of her eye. The people poured out of the room and Aria turned to her friends.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later, okay?" As they nodded, Aria walked towards Jason in three long strides. She took a seat next to him. "Jason."

Jason looked down and a smile crept up on his face. "Hey, Aria."

"Are you okay?" Aria asked.

"Yeah..." Jason sighed. "This whole thing's a little… overwhelming. I just… Yeah, I'm fine…"

"Good."

They sat down in silence as the final two or three people left the room. Aria studied the picture of Alison carefully, with her long locks and pouty lips. She couldn't help but notice how innocent Alison looked in the portrait. "She was so young."

"Yeah," was all Jason had to say.

"So young, so innocent." Aria carried on absentmindedly, thoughts replacing words.

"Innocent, yeah right," Jason sighed again. "Although I wouldn't know. We were never close. That's… I guess… That's what I regret."

"Jason…" Aria started, although she couldn't quite find the words; she knew how that felt. In Iceland, Mike had gone… astray, and during the year, she and Mike had kept a distance. "Jason…"

Aria cupped his face in her hands and turned his head to face hers. Jason wasn't crying but his expression wanted to make _Aria_ cry. She wasn't quite sure what to do so she lightly kissed his lips, savouring the sweet, yet dizzy feeling. She hadn't expected him to kiss back – she hadn't expected him to do _anything_. He turned his head at an angle to deepen the kiss. When they broke apart, both were breathless.

"Why did we do that?" Jason asked. "Not that I didn't want to..."

"I don't know. Not that _I_ didn't want to." Aria smiled weakly as she rested her head on Jason's shoulders. He seemed rather unprepared for this gesture, but he let his fingers rest on her head.

"Why?" Aria brought up, all of a sudden.

Alarmed, he raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you kiss me, before Ali… died?"

Jason chuckled lightly. "Well… I have quite a lot of answers to that."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well…" he hesitated. "You're not going to run away, right?"

Aria looked up confusedly. "Why would I do that?" _Why would anyone in their_ right mind _do that_?

"Because most people get scared when I tell them I'm the older brother of a murder victim…"

"I'm not going to run away." Aria said solemnly. "And anyway, most people get scared when I tell them I was her best friend. Especially people at school. Now, I will shut up because I really want you to explain."

"You've still got that snark," he grinned, before seeing Aria's expression. "Okay, okay, okay, I'll tell you. You've got a terrible sense of humour – and incredulous snark. Feisty, but incredibly beautiful and just… you're Aria."

Aria smiled.

* * *

Over and over again, Aria had to remind herself that a couple of 'dates' and a handful of kisses _didn't_ mean a relationship.

She wanted to take it further.

"Hey, Ar." Jason smiled as he gently kissed her lips. The nickname – the nickname itself made Aria melt with feelings.

But she knew that if something wasn't said… someone was going to get hurt. And if she told him what she felt for him… she couldn't handle it if she lost yet another friend.

Cheating was never an option, but if the worst came to the worst…

"Jason, maybe we shouldn't do this yet, I mean, what are we, exactly?" The words rushed out of her mouth.

Jason frowned slightly. "If I admit… I was… I was going to say the same. This has been… this has been great but we need to figure out what it is before we even think about a relationship. And… I'm leaving Rosewood."

"Oh," Aria nodded. "Right."

"I'll miss you," Jason mumbled, playing with her hair.

"I'll miss you, too," And they kissed again. When they let go, Aria couldn't help that one pang of sadness growing inside her heart. It would probably be the last time she would get the chance to kiss him.

He was leaving.

Just like all those years ago, when he left without a goodbye, although this time he did. Nevertheless, he was leaving. She hadn't meant anything to him after all.

Alison was probably right again – a guy like Jason would _never_ fall for a little, immature girl like Aria.

* * *

 ** _SO SO SO SO SO_... the next chapter is another summary sort of thing plus someone special is coming back...**

 **(One more thing: I'm so glad that I'm not the only Jaria shipper around. I'm glad that a lot of you believe in them, too, even if it's more than true that Ezria will be endgame. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you.)**


	4. The Reason Why

**Thank you all for the reviews _jariafan_ , _Boris Yeltsin_ and _DamonplusMyrnin_ for the triple review ;)**

 **Quite a few time jumps in this :) This chapter marks the end of Season 1! Season 2 will be up shortly! I have completely messed up the storyline here – especially the last part… but hey… _ALSO_ , someone returns a little than they are supposed to…**

* * *

 **the reason why**

* * *

 _your head is running wild again_ _  
_ _my dear, we still have everything  
and it's all in your mind  
— **pink**  
_

* * *

She had never felt heartbreak before.

But then again, she never got to _know_ how being heartbroken felt like.

But ever since Jason disappeared from her life again, she'd been feeling down, almost as down as when she first realised Jason was gone – no, more.

And it hurt.

She was being the typical overdramatic sixteen-year-old. Silly her, it wasn't _really_ heartbreak. After all, she and Jason hadn't even been together officially – they'd never agreed on some boyfriend-girlfriend thing. In other words, _they had hooked up_.

But… Aria had _felt_ something whenever she was with him. She felt – as cliché as it sounded – sparks fly whenever their lips touched and mingled, whenever they got lost in each other's eyes filled with such… _love_.

And there she was, being her overdramatic self again. Love – _really_?

Aria missed him. The littlest of things, the most meaningless of things, she missed. She missed the way he always called her 'Ar', the sweet sound which managed to wind its way into her heart. His hands which always got tangled in her hair; the hands which also tried to tame her locks, although they failed miserably each time. She missed the way he held her, whether it was for a millisecond or if it was for an hour.

All the same, she missed it. Missed _him_.

 _Grow up,_ she said to herself, _you're probably one of millions of girls he's hooked up with. He's probably already forgotten your name – and anyway, you never stood a chance._

She seriously had to stop – following her thoughts, _she never stood a chance_.

And she never would. If she had, Jason wouldn't have left. Piling everything on Jason was mean and untrue, but at the moment, it was all she had to help her forget about him.

 _Think other boys,_ she thought, _you're no longer stupid little dorky Aria with her spunk. You're… Icelandic Aria. No, better, you're…_

"Hey! Listen up, Aria!" Hanna snapped a finger in front of her face, immediately pulling her away from her thoughts. "Did you even hear me?"

"Wh-what?" Aria mumbled, still in her daze. "What?"

"God, _listen_!" Spencer sighed noisily, glaring at her.

Emily looked at Aria curiously. "Are you alright? You've been a little out of it since… since Jason…" She stopped herself, as if to shake off the very thought. Aria was relieved beyond belief – it was still a secret.

"Yeah, like Em said, you've not been yourself since Jason left Rosewood…" Hanna's voice also trailed off, and Aria sucked in their breath, desperately hoping they were still as oblivious as before…

"Is it something about him leaving? You did mention something about being friends…" Spencer started, but when she saw Aria's arising blush, her eyes widened and she added, "Maybe… m-more than friendship?"

"What? No!" Aria's blush only deepened, and she buried her face in her hands. "That's… that's _crazy_. Friends – friends _only_."

Spencer nodded slowly. "Okay, good. Anyway, carrying on…"

But Hanna hadn't quite let it go. "Spencer, you could be right – maybe… maybe you and Jason _were_ more than friends…"

Aria shook her head fervently. "Yes, _maybe_. Meaning _no_ , _no_ , and guess what? _No_. Spence, what were you saying?"

Hanna and Emily exchanged a look, only making Aria even more nervous.

"I said _no_. We're just friends – no, not even _that_ at the moment." She crossed her arms.

"You know, when someone says they're 'just friends', they mean the exact opposite." Hanna pointed out.

"Did you guys kiss?" Emily said, going straight to the facts.

Aria's mind slipped to their first kiss, back when Alison was alive, when his lips on hers spun her around, and then it slipped to their second one, right in front of that rock-climbing centre. The kiss had been perfect – every little thing about it had been just… perfect. Without realizing, she said, "Yes," It took her a matter of time to realize what she had said. "I mean, _no_! No! We didn't!"

All three of her best friends now stared at her, and she shifted uncomfortably.

Spencer was the first to break the silence:

"You and… and… _Jason_. You guys…" Spencer looked around, before hissing, "Aria, he's _dangerous_."

"You don't know him," Aria noted. "You know Drug Addict Jason, not… the new Jason."

"So you two _were_ together." Spencer stated.

Aria hesitated. It was too late now – she couldn't back out; she'd said too much. "Not officially. Can we please stop talking about this? It happened. Past tense. It was… it was nothing. It was just a simple one-time thing – with _only_ a handful of kisses – and it won't happen again. He left. We've _moved_ on."

It was silent for a while again.

"I'm sorry Spencer's being really shallow," Emily said, edging towards Aria. "I'm sorry."

"No reason to be sorry," murmured Aria. "Whatever happened between is over now. It _happened_. And there will never be a repeat of it. Okay, Spencer?"

As if on cue, Spencer's laptop made a funny sound, and all their attention was drawn to it. Spencer was the first to move, picking it up and placing it in front of them, on the kitchen table.

"Email," said Spencer, in an almost inaudible voice.

 _With attachment_.

It was probably just some timetable for Spencer's… extra studies? It couldn't _possible_ be _A_...

Spencer moved the mouse onto the attachment and with a small, shaky breath she clicked on it.

" _Wanna see more? I know you want to_."

It was unmistakably Alison, sitting on the Kissing Rock, wrapped up in an old scruffy jumper and probably nothing else but a skimpy little top.

" _If the girls knew I was seeing you_ …" the Ali in the video continued. " _God, they would not stop talking about it_." she paused. " _I wish they were more mature but… We don't have a lot of time – I have to get back before they wake up_." Ali dropped her head down, a smug grin sewn onto her face. " _I know you wanna kiss me._ "

Spencer paused it there, and turned to the other girls. "This is the same video which the policeman showed us a few weeks ago, around the time of Mona's party." Hanna stiffened. "The one A sent them."

"And there's more," Hanna pointed out. Spencer nodded and resumed the video.

Alison stood up, her arms reaching out towards the mystery man in front of her. The camera turned around… _Ian_.

 _Ian_ freaking _Thomas_.

The camera shook and the Ian in the video smirked, saying, "Come closer,"

Just like Ian had asked her to, Ali came closer, the camera moving towards him. At that, Ian's hand covered the lenses and Alison fell onto a ground with a muffled scream.

" _Oh my fucking god_ ," Aria murmured.

The camera had long dropped onto the floor and Alison's hand came into view, flying in from nowhere. It grasped the dirt on the ground until finally – _finally_ – it stopped moving.

* * *

Things had plummeted from bad to worse. Since that video…. god, that video… none of the liars had been able to concentrate. Especially Spencer – Ali's murderer was freaking married to her sister, currently _living_ in the Hastings' household!

And talking of households – Aria's was beyond being able to explain. Ella had moved out almost one-and-a-half months before, and yet Aria had found her mother and father… in the library… together. This was crazy… her parents… having an affair _with each other_?

" _Aria_!" Hanna exclaimed as they sat down for lunch.

"Y-yeah?" Aria asked. "Hm?"

" _What_ am I going to do?" Hanna said miserably. "He's crashing _at school_. Yet I don't completely trust him… but then again, I _do_ …"

"Sorry?" Aria asked again. "Wait, I thought Ian was married to Melissa and lived at _their_ house…"

" _No_!" Hanna said louder. "I'm talking about Caleb – we saw him at the library. He was _sleeping_ in the library. He was _living_ in the library."

But Hanna's desperate shouts to claim her attention was all in vain, as Aria's mind had already slipped away.

* * *

" _Trouble in paradise?" Jason asked Aria has she trod through the kitchen in a tank top and yoga pants._

 _Aria gave Jason a dirty look before opening the fridge; he seemed to have noticed her angry expression."You could say that."_

 _Jason laughed, propping his legs up onto the table in front of the telly. "You know, I really don't get girls. They fight about the tiniest of things and god, the revenge. Backstabbing little bitches, some girls are."_

 _"_ Excuse _me?" she scoffed._

 _"I said_ some girls _." Jason pressed. "Anyways, what's your big 'backstab Ali' plan?"_

 _Aria sighed, opening the can of soda. "I'm not trying to get revenge on Ali. Although I should, I'm not."_

 _"Why the hell not? I know what she did; I'd do something absolutely horrible. What aboutfilling her pencil case with slugs?' he suggested._

 _Aria took a seat near Jason. "You know, she's not_ all _bad."_

 _"Oh yeah?" Jason raised his eyebrows._

 _"Yeah. She's a pretty good friend. At times. I'm not going to fill her pencil case with slugs… I'm just really, really, really pissed at her." Aria took a sip from the soda and spat it out almost immediately. "What the hell is this?"_

 _"Soda, I guess?"_

 _Aria laughed. "It tastes almost as bad as Spencer's coffee."_

 _Jason propped up an eyebrow but all the same laughed along with her. "So I'm guessing Spencer doesn't make the best coffee?"_

 _Aria gave Jason a look that screamed_ really?. _"You could say that."_

* * *

"Earth to Aria?" Hanna asked, interrupting Aria's thoughts.

Blushing, she turned towards her best friend. "I'm really sorry, Han."

"Hm," Hanna rolled her eyes. "Will you please help me? I'm in a sort of crisis at the moment. Should I or should I not trust Caleb?"

"Who?" Aria asked grudgingly.

Hanna shook her head in disbelief, and pointed towards a tall guy with long, dark hair, leaning on a bin.

"The new kid?" A confused look flickered on Aria's face, until realization dawned on her. "The guy we saw in the library! He's sort of sketchy. But then again, he _does_ have that bad boy strike."

Hanna stifled a laugh. "Moving on so soon?" she took a pause. "You were thinking about him, weren't you? No, not Caleb… _Jason_."

" _What_?" spluttered Aria. " _No_! How could you even _consider_ such a thing?"

Hanna laughed again. "You lie most… eloquently. Are you sure you and Jason aren't still seeing each other? In secret?"

"Who's still seeing each other?" Spencer plonked herself down on the seat between Aria and Hanna. Spencer seemed worn-out, and she was holding a small slip of paper.

"No one is," Aria said quickly, covering up her nervousness. "Anyway, what's that?" She took the slip from Spencer and examined it, her eyes widening as she read the address.

"Shoot… you weren't meant to see that." Spencer started.

Hanna too got the slip and read it and re-read it. "Toby…"

"I'm tutoring him French." Spencer tried to explain.

"Yeah, we see that." Aria muttered. "But why?"

"Look… we know that it wasn't Toby who…"

"The last time we heard of Toby was when he almost tried to kill Emily!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Carrying on… we know that it was _Ian_ , not Toby. And I feel really bad so… maybe I could help him?" Spencer said, although she seemed unsure herself.

"Oh, so he isn't the 'devil in disguise' anymore?" Aria questioned.

"I felt bad about that," Spencer admitted. "I want to make things right. We… although mostly Alison… we threw him into juvie… for something _we_ did."

Hanna stopped for a few seconds, processing the information. "Does Emily know?"

"Last time I checked, Emily was hiding away in one of the changing rooms, desperately trying to avoid Paige McCullers and her dodgy bracelets." Spencer said.

"Who?" Aria asked. "Doesn't Emily swim with her?"

"Yeah, she does… but…" Hanna then smiled. "Oh, you mean Dora the Explorer?"

And even with A, and Toby, and Caleb, and Jason, the three of them laughed – almost, _almost_ being reminded of when they were _normal_ teenagers.

* * *

She wondered if she would ever see him again. Maybe – when everything with Alison pulled over, and they had gotten to the bottom of the mystery… but she wasn't even sure if _that_ was going to happen.

She sighed and turned over onto her side, staring out into the broad daylight. She blew a stray piece of her hair out of her face, and reached out for her phone: _one new message_.

 **I'm at the Brew. Meet me here?** **  
** **—Jason**

Aria's jaw dropped open. This was just an illusion, wasn't it? Because surely – _surely_ – Jason was not back in Rosewood. Hastily, she typed back.

 **You're back!?** **  
** **—Aria**

She gathered up her stuff and walked to her bedroom door, nibbling on her lip as she waited for a reply.

 **Yep** **  
** **—Jason**

No, it wasn't an illusion, because Jason DiLaurentis was indeed back.

She smiled inwardly, leaving her house. The walk to the Brew seemed almost as quick – partly because she was running; partly because she was just so… _excited_.

"Jason." Aria smiled as she saw Jason standing by the window. He looked the same – he was still as good-looking as ever, with his strikingly green eyes and dirty-blonde hair which stopped at his chin.

"Aria," Jason caught sight of Aria and he too smiled. "Hey, Ar." He brought Aria into a quick hug.

"You're… you're back… in Rosewood." Aria stated, gesturing around them. "I just… I thought you'd left for good."

Jason sighed, shuffling his feet. "Yeah, I'm back… and this time, I'm staying. I moved back to the old house...you know, the St. Germains moved out and everything." They both nodded – Maya had been sent to juvie after Emily's mom found out that she smoked weed. The whole St. Germain family moved away with her.

"So… why are you back?" she asked.

"Well, I decided I didn't want to live with my parents anymore. And I realised that I just wanted to find out who killed my sister, if he… she… they… are still here… I, um, I needed answers. A lot of them," Jason's voice faltered. "And also because, I guess with all the insanity, I missed Rosewood."

Aria nodded slowly. "Rosewood is one pretty unforgettable place."

"It is." Jason agreed.

"So…" Aria started, smirking. "Are those _all_ the reasons?"

Jason laughed whole-heartedly, before capturing Aria's lips in a sweet kiss. Just like the first kiss – _perfect_. No other words to describe it except… _perfect_.

"Aria…" Jason murmured when they finally broke apart. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Aria asked, confused.

"For everything." Jason admitted. "For leaving so abruptly, for leaving itself. For giving the impression that nothing really mattered to me…"

Aria bit her lip, unsure what to say or do. If she was honest, Jason _had_ put Aria under the impression that he'd thrown whatever they had away.

"While I was back with my parents… I did a lot of thinking," he carried on. "And… I really like you, Aria. And I know that you were under the impression that I didn't but… I do. And I never even considered forgetting whatever we had. So, for that… I'm sorry."

Taken aback, she froze. That was, until, Jason's lips once again were on hers, and they both knew that with that one small movement, all was forgiven.

* * *

"Jason and I are back together… well, not technically, because we weren't really together in the first place… What I meant was that Jason and I are together."

All three girls turned to look at Aria, eyes wide open and jaws dropped down. There was a loud _crash_ as one of the torches the liars were holding had fallen down. Aria hastily picked it up and handed it back to Emily.

 _Way to go_ , a voice in Aria's head said, _you have to go and tell them when you're in the middle of finding out who the hell A is, don't you?_

But then again, Aria never really had a lot of common sense – she believed she got it from her father.

They were _so_ close – _so close_ – and Aria had dropped the bombshell. Tactful, very tactful indeed.

" _What_?" Hanna was the first to break the silence, her shrill voice filling the front garden of Spencer's house. "You… and Jason…"

"When… why… how did it happen?" Spencer exclaimed.

"It doesn't really matter." pressed Aria. "Let's just get back to waiting for Melissa to come."

"It _does_ matter! We're almost getting to the bottom of this and you just casually drop in that you're dating Jason – obviously it has _some_ importance!" Emily said.

"Well, it doesn't, okay?" Aria mumbled. "I just completely forgot about telling you guys for a while and… my head just went, alright?"

" _For a while_?" Spencer screeched.

" _Are you and Jason still seeing each other_? _In secret_?" Hanna mimicked her voice and repeated the words she had said almost one month before. " _No_ my ass!"

"I'm _sorry_!" Aria said loudly.

"How long have you guys been together? And… we said _no more_ secrets!" Spencer interrupted.

Aria had to be honest now – in actual fact, it had been a very long time she and Jason had been dating. They'd started it of secretive, and were planning on going public soon. The girls were the first people she had told… or, quoting Emily… casually dropped in. "Since… since he first came back to Rosewood and moved in. Almost… a month back?"

"Aria… Jason… he… he can't be trusted!" Spencer said.

"Oh, oh," Bitterness was now evident in Aria's voice. "So going to hook up with who you called 'the devil's spawn' is all right?"

"He's _changed_." Spencer said. "And he's innocent."

A loud _screech_ caused them to lose attention from Aria and Spencer, instead making them look towards the noise.

" _Shit_." Hanna cursed. "It's Melissa."

They all ran into the kitchen, or at least, attempted to: they had been caught.

"Slumber party?" Melissa asked, eyeing the four girls. " _Cute_."

"Four minutes," mouthed Emily, checking her phone discreetly. In four minutes, they were planning on leaving with Garrett Reynolds to the park – that was where they would finally put an end to all the nonsense; that was where Ian was going to be lured into.

 _Four._

"I remember when I was young enough to have sleepovers. But of course, my little baby will soon be able to." Melissa giggled. "I'm still wondering if it will be a girl or a boy! Ian says he doesn't mind whichever sex, but… I don't know…"

 _Three._

"What about you, Spence? You'll be an aunt, even if it seemed otherwise yesterday," Melissa crossed her arms, turning her head to look at the others. "Aria! It's _so_ good to see you! I almost forgot it was you, see, all I remember is when you had pink in your hair!"

"Yeah…" Aria laughed nervously. She averted her eyes from Melissa and looked towards the other girls, giving them a warning by tapping her watch.

 _Two._

Melissa's smile faltered as she ransacked her bag. "Oh, goodness me, my phone! I think I left it at the church, you know, when Ian promised to meet me, but he didn't…"

"I'll drive you there," Spencer said immediately. "Or, well, I'll drive there and retrieve it."

Melissa's smile returned. "Thank you, Spencer."

 _One_.

So far, so good, their plan was working.

* * *

They arrived at the old park at exactly five to nine. It was cold and breezy and too dark for their liking but this was it. _This was it_. If Ian arrived at the park to take the cash, everything, _everything_ would be over.

"Duck!"

They ducked under the bush, just as a hooded figure walked in through the gate. He approached the second man, the one carrying the money, and he carefully pulled down his hood.

This man – this man was not Ian Thomas.

They watched as the man-who-was-not-Ian disappeared, bearing the money – bearing the failure of their so well thought-out plan. But thinking over, it was obvious. If Ian was the mastermind behind the whole A and Alison business, of course he would have sent a different man.

Her phone.

Her phone was ringing.

Aria got it out as fast as she could, placing the phone on her ear. The caller had been Spencer Hastings, yet she could not hear Spencer Hasting's voice.

Instead there were screams – muffled screams.

"Church," Aria quipped up, already standing, ready to go. "Spencer's at the church – and she's in trouble. I think she's alone with Ian."

* * *

Shaken up and rattled, Spencer came out of the church. The girls, who had been worried to wit's end, sprinted towards the brunette, not caring about the police lines, or the cops themselves.

"Spence!" Emily wrapped her arms around her. Aria and Hanna too let Spencer enter their embrace, as they did every bit they could to calm her down.

"He's dead," muttered Spencer mindlessly.

"It's okay, it's okay," Aria said over and over again.

"You had to do it – he was going to kill _you_." Hanna reassured.

"No," Spencer shook her head fervently. "I didn't kill Ian. Yes, Ian was trying to kill me, but I didn't kill him."

"Spence, what do you mean?" Hanna asked.

"What I mean is, that someone saved me up there. And that 'someone' was wearing all black – just like A." Spencer was still in disbelief. "Ian isn't A, guys, he never was."

The cops followed out of the church, and made their way towards the girls.

"Is this some sort of sick joke?" the oldest-looking cop said.

"S-sorry?" Spencer spluttered. "Look, officers, I'm not making a joke. I was almost-"

"We heard you the first time, okay?" the cop rolled her eyes. "There is no body down there, like you said. Not even blood. Did you make a mistake or something?"

This statement left Spencer speechless. Flustered, she turned to the cops. " _I_ was almost killed in there. _He_ fell down. _Someone else_ pushed him. _He_ is there. _His_ body is there."

The cop shook her head. "I get that you're still a little… jolted. It is only natural for you to hallucinate. We will return to you shortly – you may return to your parents and sister, who I'm sure are wanting to know if you are okay." The cop left with the others back to one of Rosewood's finest detectives.

As if on cue, each of their phones buzzed from deep inside their pocket.

 **It's not over until I say it is.  
Sleep tight while you can, bitches.  
—A**

They didn't have to look at each other, or talk, or move – for each knew what each was feeling. Dread, fear, regret…

The four girls made their way over the police lines – Spencer being careful to avoid her parents.

"Hey, are you four okay?"

They whipped their heads around, equally confused to why the hell Jason, of all people, was standing right there, at the crime scene.

Aria walked up to him. "Jason?"

"Are you alright?" Jason asked, all seriousness in his voice.

"Spencer…" Aria said quietly.

"Spencer. Are you… are you okay?" Jason eyed her.

"I'm fine," Spencer suppressed a smile, but even a blind person would know that she wasn't.

Aria looked up at him strangely, not quite sure what to think of him suddenly being there.

But then again, seeing him there – that was enough to make her feel safe.

* * *

 **I think I said last chapter that this would be a 'summary sort of thing'. Well… I guess it came out pretty long XD I think it's actually the longest chapter so far! (4K words to be exact!) And… this marks an end to Season 1!**


	5. Dark Details

**season two (or in other words _in which things are built up only to be knocked down_ )**

 **So in case anyone gets confused, this story is _In The Off Chance_ , but I decided for a nice, fitting change to _If It Was a Fairytale_. **

**So this chapter is basically half of the Jaria scenes in Season 2 (I was going to do all of them but I would've written a whole novel so…) This starts at Ian's funeral (2x05) but will have mentions of 2x04 and also 2x02 :) I'm sort of going to skip some scenes so don't get too confused :)**

* * *

 **dark details**

* * *

 _give me love like never before_ _  
_ _'cause lately i've been craving more  
paint splattered teardrops on my shirt  
told you i would let them go  
— **ed sheeran**  
_

* * *

Guilt.

Guilt was what she felt – that feeling when everything inside of you is doing a whole turn, when your stomach feels like it's being scrunched up, twisted, crushed; when your mind is swirling with nothing else but regret.

And of all things she could be feeling, at that moment, Aria was feeling _guilt_.

She knew that Ian was responsible for Ali's death, and deserved not even the simplest gave. But as she sprinkled the dirt over his coffin, she couldn't help but feel that small pang of sadness.

It hadn't been long until they found his body.

Alongside Wren, they'd been able to track down where Melissa was going out to every night – a lone cabin in the woods. And then there was that… blood-curdling scream.

Everything went in a blur after that.

Beside his body were a gun and a note, confessing of the murder. Ian Thomas had committed suicide.

Aria craned her head just a little bit to see Melissa, who, undoubtedly, was bawling her eyes out. Melissa was partially why she was feeling such guilt – not only had she lost her husband, the man she loved but the father of her unborn child. Her son… or daughter… the baby would grow up without knowing its father, monster or not.

Ian was a monster. And everyone knew it. But right now, right here, it was a funeral. He was young – very young – and no one deserved to die at twenty-one, did they?

She turned her focus back to the priest, who had seemed to be able to say some relatively nice things about the murderer. And just as he said the final word, the funeral ended, and Aria could finally breathe properly.

In the corner of her eye, she saw someone. Someone in particular, sitting on the bench, alone.

 _Jason?_

The last time she'd seen him was when he had caught her brother, Mike, trying to break into his house. He's come to her house, gratefully _not_ telling on him, and Aria had every urge to kiss him then… but if their relationship was going to start off as a secret, it had to start off as a secret; it had to _be_ a secret. Well, the girls being an exception.

Aria felt the sudden urge to talk to her boyfriend.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Emily asked, pointing at Jason, as well as tugging Aria towards her.

"Maybe he came here for the same reason as us?" Aria suggested.

"Right, to spit on Ian's grave?" Emily laughed spitefully.

"No, to get _closure,_ " Aria rolled her eyes. "God, what happened to being nice?"

She was right: the girls had been very suspicious of Jason, especially Spencer, who was wary of Toby working with him. Aria had told them not to spit fire at him and that she trusted him with her life – they had eventually but reluctantly agreed not to skip to conclusions.

"Well, I still think he's creepy, even if he wasn't hiding Ian in his house, he's a freak and always has been!" Emily crossed her arms, shooting words back and forth. "And how can you explain him just… _being_ there when Spencer almost got killed? Maybe that _freak_ is the one…"

"Hey, that 'freak' is my boyfriend. And for the whole bell tower thing – Jason was just there, like everyone else. Almost the whole of Rosewood was there, behind the police lines!" Aria spat back. She was used to this. "And you might hate his guts and find him creepy as hell but give him a chance. I trust him – isn't that enough? Seriously, Emily, this is _exactly_ like the Toby situation… like the Caleb situation!"

Emily bit her lip, before shrugging. "Whatever. I'm going home. Tell your parents I said goodbye." And she sauntered off. Sighing angrily, Aria walked towards the far-off bench where Jason was sitting.

"Aria, can I talk to you?"

 _What now?_

Aria turned around and saw _Ezra_ looking at her rather attentively.

"Ezra…"

The last memory of him was still fresh in her mind. He'd… he'd been groping her roughly against the classroom wall, his tongue down her throat. Those moments… those moments were _horrifying_. Even Aria had a hard time believing they actually _happened_ to _her_.

He'd left Rosewood High with a sincere apology, transferring to Hollis – but that didn't help clearing up the mess he made.

"I don't want anything to do with you." Aria said blankly, already turning on her heel.

"Please, Aria, I just want to say something. Hear me out this once. Please."

"Shoot," Aria said, clicking her tongue whilst looking away.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I shouldn't have done what I did and I regret it all," Ezra pleaded. "Please, I mean this. I am really, really sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Aria furrowed her brow at what seemed his very fake apology. "Do _you_ think I should? You were going to rape me if I didn't stop you!" Without turning back, Aria walked away from him and towards Jason. She took a seat next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You came,' Aria said lightly.

"Yeah," Jason replied, still staring out in front of him, his face emotionless.

"Once again… thank you, thank you for not calling the cops on my brother, for not ratting him out," Aria smiled, before tilting her head at an angle. "Why are you so willing to give him a free pass?"

Jason turned to look at Aria. "I don't know. Maybe it was because Ali threatened to turn me in all the time." He let out a small chuckle as he cast his eyes down at the grass.

 _Figures Alison would do that to Jason_ , Aria thought.

"Did… did she ever?" Aria asked.

Jason sighed. "Ali was too smart for that, even as a kid. She was fearless when she needed to be. I was always jealous of that. Of her," he took a breath before talking again. "I guess that's why my parents can't even look me in the eye anymore. They know they lost the wrong kid."

 _They know they lost the wrong kid._ Those very words echoed in her head. _They know they lost the wrong kid. They know they lost the wrong kid. They know they lost the wrong kid._

Those words… It made Aria feel angry. She was angry that Alison made Jason feel like that, she was angry that Jason _did_ feel like that.

"Hey, don't _ever_ say that. It's completely untrue." Aria urged. "Hey, Jase, look at me." When Jason didn't, Aria sighed."Look, Jason, maybe it was a mistake coming here today…"

"Just the opposite actually." Jason replied quickly. "You don't know how good it feels to know it wasn't me."

 _What? Jason thought_ he _killed Ali?_ Aria blinked twice.

"You see, I don't remember _a thing_ from that night. I blacked out and woke up the next morning with a wicked hangover and-" Jason reached for his pocket and produced a small scrunched-up piece of paper. "-and this." Jason passed it to a cautious Aria who opened it.

 **I know what you did.**

It was something that A would do. Hold it over his head so he thought it was him. How could – _how could_ – her friends even start to consider theories about Jason being A?

"Who gave you this? What does this mean?" Aria pressed.

"I don't know," shrugged Jason. "But it almost destroyed me."

Aria sucked in her breath. "You thought… you thought _you_ killed her?"

"Like I said, I don't remember anything from that night. I was jealous, and when I got loaded, I got angry." Jason winced at his own words. "But Ian's confession changed everything. He did it. Not me."

Aria grabbed Jason's hand. "I know for a fact you wouldn't do _anything_ to hurt Alison."

Jason looked down at their intertwined hands and his mind melted back to one of his fights with Ali.

* * *

 _"Alison, what the hell are you doing in my room?" Jason asked groggily when he woke up and saw his sister crouching down, picking something up, although he couldn't quite make it out. "Ali, get the fuck out of my room!"_

 _When Alison didn't answer, Jason stood up and raised his voice, "Get the hell out of here His eyes caught the large black bag Ali was holding. "Ali, what's going on?"_

 _Alison looked up at him for two seconds before turning her head back to the bag._

 _"Alison!" Jason said. He looked at her hand, and realized it was bleeding. "Ali, you're bleeding._

 _"And it's all_ your _fault. Everything is!" Alison said, exasperated. "It's your stupid beer bottles. I want you to stop. I keep telling you, but why the hell are you not listening to me?"_

 _Jason crossed his arms, not really caring in the slightest of whatever she had to say. "Get. Out."_

 _"I need you to stop. Please, Jason, you're slowly…killing yourself!" Alison dropped the bag on her feet. "I don't want you to do that."_

 _"Like you_ actually _care. It's you, Mom and Dad against me. Three against one, it always is." Jason said loudly. "This is probably you trying to weasel information out of me so you can get some wine for your fucking power puff get-togethers."_

 _"I'm trying to help you!"_

 _"Like hell you are! You're never on my side! None of you are! You don't care whether I live or die, and neither does my parents. Now get out before it gets ugly." Jason spat._

 _At that, Alison started laughing spitefully. "I knew it. You can't go two seconds without your drinks. This was just a test. I really couldn't care less." Alison laughed again. "You believed me, didn't you? Well, I was always the best liar of the family."_

* * *

And she was.

She was a compulsive liar, with a knack of winding you around her little finger. She manipulated you, hurt you, lied and lied and lied – she lied so much, you would never know what was real and what was fake. Jason was one of her primary victims – she'd manipulated him far more times than he could possibly remember, and lied and lied and lied on her life depended on it. With Alison, his life… his life had been hectic, and on the brink of make-believe, but in it all, he genuinely _did_ love his sister – whatever mess or trail of devastation she left, Jason couldn't help but love and care about her.

He'd failed her. He'd let her go and get murdered while he was probably drinking and smoking and just _not_ caring about her.

When he'd told Aria that the note had destroyed him, he wasn't kidding, because when he found it, something inside of him broke. He wasn't sure what it was, but his world crashed down and guilt was hanging over his head like a rainstorm, and it just _wouldn't go away_. He and Alison had some messed-up love/hate relationship, but it wasn't meant to be _that_ messed-up.

That was why he had urged Spencer to tell him if Ian really had confessed – and when he found out he had, god, all his weight seemed to have lifted, and even if the guilt stayed, he felt one hundred times better knowing that it wasn't him. And even if something kept on screaming, _you should have been a better brother!_ , he was more relieved than he ever could imagine.

He drifted his eyes to Aria, who was still gazing at him with concern etched on her beautiful face.

"Thank you," Jason said, out of the blue. "Thank you for believing in me."

Aria responded by kissing his forehead gently – although she'd rather it was his lips. "I need to go. I'll call you later, okay?"

Jason nodded, smiling.

* * *

" _What_?" Aria spluttered as she, Hanna and Spencer turned to gape at Emily, who, probably just said one of the most stupid and dangerous things that could possibly be said.

"Are you trying to drive us _away_ from all this mess to an even more messed-up mess?" Hanna added.

Spencer nodded alongside them. "Em, frankly, it doesn't make sense."

"Well, you guys can believe your own theories. This A world is dangerous, okay? And we can't just stay on the safe side. A sent me the note, telling me to 'look at it in more ways than one'. Why would A do that?" Emily shot back.

"She's got a point…" Hanna murmured.

" _Thank you_!" Emily said.

"I'm not saying it's a _good_ point! What I mean is, is that A is probably trying to double-cross us!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Well, I always hated 'tic tac toe'," Aria muttered under her breath. "Em, show us, then."

Emily nodded and from her bag, she got out a large rolled-up piece of card. She threw the elastic band on the floor and placed the card on the table.

There was a picture of Ian's suicide note stuck in the middle, with annotations leading outwards.

"All our previous A messages – they add up to make the suicide note," Emily started. "What I'm saying is…"

"Ian's suicide note was fake. Ian… didn't kill himself," finished Spencer.

"Yes," Emily nodded solemnly. "Read the note first, and then look at our messages. You'll see the similarities."

 **I killed Alison. I lost my temper because she knew too much. But there's only so much you can bury. It won't be that easy, but I know how to get rid of the pain. I can't run from the law. Come and find me.** **  
** **—I**

"They all add up," Emily pointed out. " _I lost my temper_. Remember how that managed to get onto your cast? And he 'killed' her because _she knew too much_. Do you know who else knew too much? Do you remember when you got run over, Han?" Hanna nodded, but stayed silent. "' _–I'_. Pretty similar to A's trademark signature."

There was one more thing Aria wanted to say, but she knew that if she did say it, they'd immediately blame it on that particular person. A particular person, who Aria knew as a fact, was totally innocent.

The handwriting on Ian's note was identical to the handwriting on Jason's _I know what you did_ note.

"I… I got a text," Emily declared in a somewhat nervous voice. "It's… from A. I think he… she… it… has figured out that we know."

"That Ian could be innocent?" Spencer asked.

Emily nodded. "And A wants us to go to the cemetery." Silence. "Now."

* * *

"We're stupid, and reckless, and completely rash…" Hanna muttered angrily. "A wants to lure us into his stupid trap, doesn't he… she… this _bitch_?"

" _Han_ ," Aria said in a firm voice. "I don't disagree that we're doing something completely out of order, but we need to know the truth."

The faint _rustle_ of the trees were the loudest noise in the graveyard. Pitch black and freezing, the girls shivered and held onto each other for dear life. Not an instant later, the small cottage in the front lit up, displaying a picture – or, a video.

"It's Ali…" whispered Emily in a hoarse voice.

Realization struck the girls – this, this had been played to them twice before.

" _I know you wanna kiss me_ ," Alison's voice echoed through the abandoned area. The camera, just as before, shook and was passed onto Ian, whose face now took the screen.

" _Come closer_."

And just as before, Alison did as he asked, moving closer. It was all the same.

The shaking. The falling. The muffled screaming. The grasping. The letting go. The _dying_ …

The moving.

They all exchanged the look. The video, which would have ended with Alison still clutching onto the leaves, carried on, and Alison's hand now grabbed the camera again.

They saw as she regained herself, passing the camera back to Ian, who was smiling.

" _Thanks_ ," Ian grinned his Ian-y grin, before walking off.

The video ended there, leaving the liars in a trail of their own thoughts.

Ian Thomas – the alleged murderer of their best friend – was innocent.

* * *

"I've got another email." Spencer said as the girls sat for breakfast. After the whole Ali and Ian fiasco the day before, the girls had returned to Spencer's, as they knew going back home was too dangerous; A was still on the loose.

They knew this – they had seen it. They'd seen A, running from them, carrying the projector which showed the evidence that Ian wasn't the one who killed Alison.

"Is it from A?" Hanna asked in a tiny voice.

"I… don't know. It doesn't say." she murmured.

Aria and Emily exchanged a look, both nodding. "No one will hurt us in broad daylight – I think you should open it, it might be something important."

Spencer gave them the weakest of smiles, and opened it. The girls crowded around behind her, also peering over at the message.

 **Girls,** **  
** **I was wondering if we could meet at the Brew at ten? You've surely heard of the fashion show coming up, right? I would like to show you and talk through some things.** **  
** **Thanks,** **  
** **Jessica DiLaurentis**

"Forgive me if I'm wrong," Aria started. "but did _Mrs D_ email you… well, us?"

"You're not wrong," Spencer carried on. "because Mrs DiLaurentis really does want to meet us at…" Spencer looked at the clock. "…in _three_ minutes."

The girls (luckily, they were all changed) made for the door and almost sprinted down to the Brew; they didn't want to keep Mrs D waiting. They'd known her for years, and even if she didn't show it, they knew exactly how scary she was.

"You know, I wonder how she'll react when she finds out her son is dating you, Aria." Hanna said to Aria, hints of amusement in her voice.

"Or how her son might have even mur-"

" _Don't_ you start on that." Aria interrupted Emily, and she sunk back down, deciding not to say anymore.

"She's already there…" Spencer pointed through the glass to a middle-aged woman sitting on one of the tables, sipping at a _Bloody Mary_ , a few polystyrene cases beside her on the chairs.

"Is it just me, or is everyone dreading this?" Hanna brought up.

"It's not just you." the other girls muttered simultaneously. Closing their eyes, they entered the Brew, met by a loud, " _Girls_! It is _so_ nice to see you all again! My, how you've all changed!"

Not a moment later, Jessica had sat them all down on the table, herself settling down with a second drink. As she scanned the liars, they sunk down into their chairs; it was like Mrs DiLaurentis could see right through them, and this made them nervous as hell.

"You are all barely recognizable!" she laughed. "Well, I'm guessing you are all _dying_ to know why I've asked you here, right?" she chuckled. "As I said in the email, I believe, you know about the upcoming fashion show?"

"Yes," Spencer nodded.

"Good," Mrs DiLaurentis beamed. "Because it is in three days, and we have some serious planning to do! You girls are already in it, I presume, so I've got a few outfits that I'd quite like you to wear."

"Sorry?" Hanna said.

"Dresses. Don't worry, Hanna, dear, they're _all_ sizes." Mrs DiLaurentis eyed her body. "Although, maybe you won't need a… special size anymore."

Just as Hanna was about to get up to probably say something… not particular pleasant to Mrs DiLaurentis, Aria grabbed onto her hand and urged her to sit down and act like nothing had been said.

"They were Alison's," Jessica said in a sad and airy voice. "She bought a lot but… she never got to wear any of them. I'm sure she would be more than thrilled if you girls…"

"No," Hanna shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no. We can't wear that. They're nice and all…"

" _Hanna_ ," Aria warned. "Stop."

"We will be delighted to wear them," Emily smiled widely at her, ignoring the disbelieving looks her friends were giving her. "We'll see you at the fashion show then and… is there anything else you would like us to do?"

Mrs DiLaurentis smiled. "Well… there is _one_ thing. Would you mind making programs for the show?"

* * *

If Aria saw one more – _one more_ – purple, floral program, she was going to puke – and it was _not_ going to be pretty. Since Mrs DiLaurentis piled the whole job (since Emily _agreed_ ), they'd made about two or three hundred, and were currently in the process of folding them all.

Aria's phone buzzed, and she picked it up, wincing at the sudden shot of pain in her fingers.

 **Can we meet? Now?** **  
** **\- Jason**

Just as she started to text back, she turned to the other girls, mumbling, "Sorry, but I need to go. I… need to meet someone quickly."

"Is it to meet Mr Casanova?" Hanna grinned wickedly, trying to take a look at the text.

"No." Aria said, although a blush had already crept up her cheeks. _Mr Casanova indeed_ , Aria thought, laughing inwardly.

Emily and Spencer, on the other hand, gave her a meaningful look. Emily spoke up first, "Be careful around him." Aria rolled her eyes – she'd heard this plenty of times before.

" _Really_ , really careful, Aria, you don't know what he's capable of…" Spencer said sternly.

"Whatever you say, Mother." Aria rolled her eyes again, before opening the door to leave. Jason's car was parked in front of a few houses down Emily's, and Aria ambled towards him, opening the door to sit beside him.

"Hello, Aria," Jason smiled.

"Hi," Aria welcomed him with a quick kiss. When they broke apart, she gave him a quizzical look. "Not that I'm complaining but… why did you ask me to come here?"

Jason didn't meet her eyes. Instead:

"I wanted to talk. About… the funeral."

"Right." Aria nodded. "So…?

"I said some things that… maybe I should've kept to myself," he admitted.

"Oh," Aria said slowly. _Does he regret confiding in me_ , she thought, _does he not trust me enough?_ "You… you trust me… right?"

"Of course I do!" he said. "I just… I just didn't want people to get the wrong idea, you know?"

Aria smiled, relieved. "I didn't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."

"I was just… I probably gave the completely wrong impression, and I just thought I'd clear…" His voice trailed off as Aria silenced him with a kiss, which he, whole-heartedly, returned.

"Well, I don't think I should be keeping you any longer," he smiled, trailing his fingers down Aria's face.

"Yeah, as much as I hate it, the other girls are folding programs up as we speak." Aria grinned.

"Ah, the fashion show?" he asked. She nodded. "My mom's helping running it. One last speech until she steps down the board."

Aria crossed her eyebrows. "I thought Jessica DiLaurentis _was_ the board…?"

"She only joined because of my sister – god, Ali lived for that fashion show." Jason laughed, before stopping himself. "It's good to get some air – Mom's been staying with me for the past few days and… well, it hasn't exactly been the _nicest_ couple of days."

"She met up with us the other day." Aria said.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "I… well… that's a first." he paused. "Anyway, I get that I'm seeing you… tomorrow? At the fashion show?"

"Yeah… we can pick out some photos in the morning," Aria gave him one last kiss, before returning to the _dreadful_ program-folding, which, may she add, had been completely _involuntary_.

* * *

 **The bitch is dead.**

The board behind them was flashing. Flashing with pictures of Alison, unflattering, photoshopped, _fake_ pictures of Alison. They were _nothing_ like the pictures Aria had picked out with Jason – not ones with fire in her eyes and horns on her head.

Jessica DiLaurentis was the first person to leave the room – abruptly, she got out of her seat, sobbing into her hands. Jason followed after her not a minute later, stealing a quick glance at Aria. And as for Aria, she just stood there, dumbfounded, in her purple dress.

This, this was not how it was planned out.

Many more people poured out of the hall, and soon the liars were left alone on the stage. The board behind them flashed once more, and the pictures transitioned into one large note.

 **My dresses.** **  
** **My game.** **  
** **My rules.** **  
** **-A**

"I _knew_ that stupid bitch had something to do with this." Hanna growled. "God, whoever this is…"

"I'm tired." Emily declared. "I'm sick and fed up of this stuff. I'm going home. Bye, I'll see you tomorrow, guys."

They all went their different ways, heads clouded with the events of the fashion show – the events that were _completely_ unexpected.

As she started to pack up her clothes, she felt someone tower over her.

"Did you want this back?" _Noel Kahn_. "I'd hate to see anything lying around that could get you or your friends in trouble." he sneered, wavering a small CD in her face.

"Huh, I assumed that was yours, _Noel_." Aria crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes on him. "I mean, who else could that pathetically dim-witted _thing_ belong to? Obviously not to a very smart or well collected person."

Noel laughed sarcastically, the CD still in his hands. "Oh, _wow_ , Montgomery, _finally_ grown some balls?"

"Is there a problem here?" Aria almost screamed in relief as she saw Jason walk in, staring Noel down.

"No," Noel said, taking one step back.

"What's that?" Jason pointed at the CD that Noel was holding; Noel almost immediately dropped it.

"The unplanned finale," Aria muttered under her breath, every bit of venom in her voice.

Jason grabbed the CD, and not a second after examining it, he broke it in half with a sharp _snap_. Noel looked from Jason to Aria, an intimidated but _very_ humorous expression on his face. He then scurried off, scared.

"Did he hurt you?" Jason asked Aria, taking her hands in his.

"No, no he didn't," Aria replied, dazed. "He didn't… but thank you… thank you for being there."

"You act like I'm your bodyguard." chuckled Jason, finally letting go of her hands. "Mom went home… she's still pretty… shaken up from what happened. Do you know of what actually happened?"

"No," Aria said, distracted. "I, um, do you need help clearing up? I don't really have anyone to be welcomed home by so…"

"Sure, ex-Pink Hair," Jason smiled, only causing Aria to roll her eyes. "You're definitely the only girl who finds dusting people's old germs and clearing away their used dresses… appealing…"

"Oh, shut it, Mr Casanova," Aria started, before clamping her mouth. It had slipped out of her mouth, and she herself didn't even know what it meant. "I'm sorry, I… it just slipped out. It's Hanna's nickname for you, by the way."

"Mr… Casanova?" Jason repeated. "What does that mean, anyway?"

"You know, I really have no clue," Aria said truthfully. "But you know Hanna..."

Jason shook his head, laughing. "Talking of Hanna, I saw her speaking to some… guy. She seemed really upset as well."

"Oh," Aria said. "That must be Caleb – they were together for a little bit, but broke up because of… complications. We've been trying to get them back together for a while; it's just so obvious that she loves him as much as he loves her but… Hanna's finding it very hard to forgive and forget."

Jason nodded understandingly, although he seemed like he hadn't really understood at all. "You know, I'm not a girl, so I don't know much about the 'tunnel of love'…"

Aria raised his eyebrows. "'Tunnel of love'? Creative much?"

"I know right." Jason smirked, zipping up some polystyrene bags. Aria walked up beside him, helping him. Her eyes caught on one particular dress – it was a long gown, midnight blue, and was very beautiful. She remembered Alison in this dress, and quite an unforgettable sight she was – all the more beautiful, all the more mind-blowing.

For some reason, this triggered something in her mind and she thrust the dress down.

"You… okay?" Jason asked.

"How many times do we have to put her away?" she blurted out.

"Sorry?" Jason looked at her, puzzled.

"It's just… there was the funeral… the memorial… _this_ …" Aria shook her head. "And the show's on us. _We're_ still where the central information is coming from."

"You know, if I was a stranger, I'd be intrigued by the dark details." he said.

"That's us. Her brother, her friends. _We're_ the dark details," Aria threw her hands up in the air. "It's like _everyone_ has to know what we're doing. Where we are, what we do, why we do such, how we do such. They need to know everything about our past. Lies. Secrets. They won't let us go until they know everything." _Just like A_ , she thought. "You know, when you came back, why did you choose to move back in the same house you moved out of? Why live in _that_ house? That house has been the centre of attention for many people – especially the police. And you know what the police like to do, don't you? They like to question."

"As I said before, I was looking for the answers. I was trying to put all the pieces together, and if I was to do that, I'll need to go back to where it all started." Jason sighed, putting his fingers through his hair. "I was looking for something."

Aria bought it. "You still don't know who wrote the note that night. What if-"

"I know _now_ -"

"What if it wasn't Ian? What if-"

"There are no 'if's anymore. Ian did it. Look, from now own I want to figure out how to be happy and..." Jason paused, moving closer to Aria. "And I'd like to that here." He bent down and kissed her softly. "With you."

* * *

 ** _BAAAAAAM_! That was 5K words and a LOT of my free time XD**


	6. Misplaced Guilt

**edited 21/12/15: This is a rewritten chapter, as my original Chapter 6 somehow got deleted. It isn't as good as the original, but I hope it isn't _too_ shabby XD – pretty AU, as some things from this chapter didn't exactly happen. AWAIT THE EZRA-BASHING. If you love Ezra then… sorry. Forgive me.**

* * *

 **misplaced guilt**

* * *

 _i know you've been hurt by someone else  
i can tell by the way you carry yourself  
if you let me, here's what i'll do  
i'll take care of you  
_ ** _— drake_**

* * *

It had almost been a week, and the predicament was soon almost forgotten. After all, Rosewood had always been the town to face a tragedy; the fashion show was _tame_ compared to the other said tragedies.

It was certainly tame compared to what the liars had faced. They were barely adults, and they'd faced near-death experiences one or two or fifteen times. The mysteries and suspicions had circled around them, and were _still_ circling around them.

They were mere sixteen-year-olds – not some 007 agents.

* * *

It was a crisp, new day – unfortunately a _Monday_ – and Aria had arrived school a little earlier than normal. Her mother, Ella, had enrolled not long after she and her father got back together. History was her forte, although she covered for English AP at the odd time, as they hadn't found a full-time teacher for the subject – not since Ezra's 'sudden and unexplained' leave.

Aria had had to walk – therefore, her mother _must_ be at the school, marking work somewhere. She walked into her mom's classroom and found her – but not only her, as Jason DiLaurentis was also sitting on one of the tables, and was in deep conversation with her.

"Hello, Aria, darling," her mother smiled at her. "I was just talking to Jason… If you didn't know, he moved back in a month or so ago."

"Oh," Aria said, doing her best to hide her laugh. "I didn't know that."

"Well, he did, and isn't it wonderful – he's going to start teaching here!" Ella beamed at Jason, who looked back at her uneasily.

"Not teach… more like… counsel…" Jason laughed, eyeing Aria. Aria just propped up an eyebrow: this wasn't news to her.

"I see," Aria said.

"It's just to tell teenagers that there _is_ life after high school," he laughed. "And I'm just there to make sure that they don't end up in a deep, dark hole like I did." Aria smiled: this was also not news to her. He'd told her all about it – and she'd been thrilled that Jason was doing something good with his newly turned around life.

"Well, I'm guessing you don't want to be kept much longer," Ella declared. "I'll see you tonight then, I guess?"

"Yes, you will," Jason confirmed. He turned and nodded at Aria, keeping his straightest face on. "Until then, Aria."

"Until then." Aria said, almost choking as she stifled a giggle. God, if this was how they communicated, she wondered how longer they would be able to keep their relationship a secret. Jason left the classroom, leaving Aria and her mom alone.

"So… why are we seeing Jason tonight?" Aria asked.

"Well… your father and I are hosting a small dinner party, and we invited him along. He's still pretty much new to Rosewood… at least… since…" Ella shook off the thought. "Anyway, we invited him, and we'll see him tonight. We've also invited the Parthas, if you remember… and there's the elderly couple… Jo and Bennett… there's also some of the professors from Hollis – ah, yes, including Ezra. Or at least, Mr Fitz, as you knew him. I still don't get why he left so abruptly… did something happen?"

"No…" Aria covered up her blush. "And _Mr Fitz_ will be at the party? Why?"

"Why does it mean so much to you?" Ella raised her eyebrow.

"It's just… it's just really _awkward_." she lied. "I mean, it's not every day when you dine with your ex-teacher."

"I guess not," Ella shrugged. "Well, I'll see you later on, alright?" She pecked her cheek, and Aria left the classroom, muddled in her own thoughts. Ezra – the same guy who tried to get to second base with her – was coming to the dinner party. She'd be in the same room as him, breathing in what he was, eating what he was… Aria groaned, as she felt her head – this was something she was _not_ going to be looking forward to.

"Steady there, before you crash your pretty little head," Jason was laughing at her, she could feel it. "I'm joking, are you alright?"

" _Yes_! I'm fine!" she exclaimed over-enthusiastically. "And _you're_ coming with me." Before Jason could even open his mouth, Aria had pulled him over to somewhere more secretive, and had already wrapped her arms around him, kissing him with a passion she couldn't quite explain. Jason returned the favour, although still confused, kissing her back with almost as much passion.

For a millisecond, Aria fluttered her eyes open, and she saw none other than Jenna Marshall sitting not far from them. She immediately pulled away from Jason.

"Ar… I've asked you this but... are you _sure_ you're alright?" Jason asked. "You seem a little jumpy."

"I'm fine," Aria declared. "I'll see you tonight."

Jason nodded yes. "You will."

* * *

Aria Montgomery never made it to the first period.

Although she _would have_ , if she hadn't been pulled into the Girl's Bathroom before she could even begin to think about her first class of the week.

Spencer and Emily were standing there, in the bathroom, equally glum expressions on their faces. Their arms were crossed and in a way, they sort of _intimidated_ her.

"You know, the only time I hope to see that look is… is if you're giving me the sex talk or something… You're… not… right?" Aria asked nervously.

"God, _no_!" Emily exclaimed.

"Aria, _how_ could you think of us like that?" Spencer said.

"I'm sorry, you guys look _scary_!" Aria defended. "Anyway, can you _please_ tell me what's going on? And where is Hanna?"

"Probably somewhere off making out with Caleb," murmured Emily. "But anyway, we need to talk. And it's very important – even more important than Calculus with Mr Burns."

Spencer, from beside her, nodded solemnly. "Aria… Emily and I… we've been doing a lot of thinking… thinking about…" she stopped. "…about you and Jason."

"This _again_?" Aria exclaimed, having a right mind to leave Emily and Spencer with their stupid, totally incorrect theories. Jason was innocent – Aria knew it. And she didn't really give two shits about Spencer and Emily thinking that Jason was A, that Jason was the murderer, because, frankly, he _wasn't_.

"Yes," Emily pressed. "This is important… We're… we're _worried_ , Aria. We're worried that he's going to hurt you because… because he's _dangerous_ and can't be trusted."

"I trust him," Aria noted.

"That's because he's _manipulating_ you!" Spencer said loudly. "Obviously you trust him, because you're freaking _dating_ him! Aria, you were always the cautious one… what happened?"

"Jason _did not_ murder his own sister," Aria almost shouted, backing out the bathroom. "He's completely and utterly _innocent_. I trust him, he trusts me. It's _you two_ I seem to be having trust issues with." And with that, Aria stormed off, ignoring the protests. She was mad – and she would be for quite a while.

Aria decided not to bother with any of the periods – instead, she walked right into the janitor's closet, sat down and cried.

Jason _had_ been suspicious at times, but that was simply because he'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jason wasn't bad, god, he wasn't – Jason was wholly _good_ and she trusted him with her heart's content.

Despite the impression he may have put people under, Jason loved his sister, and Aria knew this. Jason loved her, and he'd never wanted to hurt her. Not intentionally.

* * *

"So… sparkly or just plain black?" Aria asked, holding up two dresses, one strapless and one shimmering with gold glitter.

"I don't know… you'll look beautiful in both." Ella beamed.

Aria rolled her eyes. "You talk like a mom."

Ella's eyes twinkled. "Thank you." She then patted the empty space next to her, gesturing for Aria to sit there. Her face then fell serious, and Aria noticed tears lingering in her eyes.

"Mom?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Ella mumbled. "I just… am I terrible parent?"

Taken aback, she shook her head. "No, Mom, you're a great parent! Why would you think that?"

"Mike," was all she said.

"Mom… Mike… he'll come around. He's fourteen, and he's just going through his hormonal stage. Look, it's probably just some… girlfriend or something like that," Aria reassured her mother, although if she was honest, she wasn't even certain herself. Not since she found out he'd been breaking into houses. She didn't dare tell that to her mother because (1) she didn't want her to freak out and make (2) Mike see a counselor, and (3) she didn't want to make anymore enemies because at the moment, (4) she had enough of those.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and Ella wiped any stray tears on her face. She turned to Aria regaining herself.

"Get yourself dressed, and be down in a minute, okay?" Ella said, pecking Aria's cheek. Aria nodded, and looked back down at the dresses.

She wondered how on earth she was going to act normal tonight.

* * *

"Nancy! Eliot! You came!" Ella's welcoming voice filled the room, causing Aria to get restless – each doorbell was a doorbell closer to Ezra's arrival.

"My, my!" Nancy said as she walked in. "Oh my goodness, Aria! You sure have grown into a beautiful young lady! Good job, Ella… Um, where's Mike?"

When no one answered straight away, Aria spoke up, "He's… he's at a friend's. He's got this massive… project to do, you see…"

"Ah… I'm glad they take their schoolwork seriously." Eliot said from beside them.

"Yeah…" Aria said awkwardly: the Parthas seemed crazy.

 _Ding dong_.

"Aria, sweetie, can you get that?" Ella called from the kitchen.

"S-sure!" Aria shot back. The steps were hard and heavy, and her hand was shaking. _Please be Jason… or that elderly couple_ , she hoped madly in her head.

"Hello, Aria,"

Aria froze. It took her a matter of time to realize what she had to do – "Hello, Mr Fitz,"

"No, you can call me Ezra." he smiled, before turning to Byron, passing him some alcohol.

"This is some very serious scotch," Byron noted, holding the bottle up to examine it. "Thank you, Ezra. I'm glad you could come." Aria faked a smile and closed the door behind him, trying very hard to keep her temper under control – just for the sake of her parents, and her herself.

When the hell was Jason going to get there?

Finally – _finally_ – the doorbell rang once more, and Aria bolted up and made straight for the door, eagerness on her face. Jason was still oblivious to the fact that Ezra had almost raped her, but all the same, Jason had always been able to make her feel safe.

"Hey there, ex-Pink Hair," Jason grinned as she opened the door, a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Funny," Aria said wryly. "Anyway, come on in."

"Didn't keep you waiting, did I?" he asked quietly.

"Not really," Aria shook her head, and she was tempted – _so damn tempted_ to kiss him… but she knew she couldn't. "Jason… how long are we-"

"Jason!" Ella burst into the front area and gave Jason a quick one-armed hug. "I'm just getting the last bits and bobs sorted – why don't you go into the lounge with all the other guests."

"Um, sure," Jason mumbled. "Er, thank you for inviting me, Mrs Montgomery."

"Please, call me Ella." Ella smiled and patted him on the back, soon disappearing into the kitchen.

Aria raised her eyebrows at such fondness. " _Sooo_ … should I be worried?"

Jason laughed. "Yup, Aria, I hate to break it to you but… I've been having a secret affair with your mom for years now…" Aria rolled her eyes, although laughing, and punched him playfully.

"I'm glad you're here," she said. _In more than one way_ , she thought. It was no lie that Jason always made her feel protected – despite what the other girls thought.

"Me too," he replied.

"There's quite a lot of people in there… there's the Parthas – old family friends. A few professors from Hollis – friends of my dad's. And there's this elderly couple, who are really nice, but they speak Shakespearean. And there's… Mr Fitz," Aria stopped herself there. "Um, ex-teacher, he works at Hollis alongside my dad."

Jason nodded slowly. "Okay,"

Not long afterwards, they entered the living room, where all the guests were on the couch, entertaining themselves. Nancy had started talking about the need of a babysitter, which Aria said she'd love to do, and the professors seemed to be playing cards or something; Jo and Bennett were sipping tea with some cabbage soup on the table beside them.

"So… the professors," Jason looked towards the men sitting down. "Shakespeare's messengers. Mrs I-Need-A-Babysitter and said person's husband. And… that's Mr Fitz."

"Yes," she said hoarsely.

Aria peered over at Ezra, who seemed half-engaged in two different conversations. He seemed to be getting a lot of attention, as he gave them good first impressions – he was good at those. After all, how else would she have winded up in the bathroom, playing tonsil tennis with him, if she hadn't found him warming and sweet, and _completely_ un-rapist-like? Ezra – Ezra was a fake. He was one of those kinds of men who usually appeared as sweet and loving, although really, all they were some lusty bastards, who thought a single 'sincere' apology covered their stupid mistakes.

"You still seem a little jumpy," Jason said, out of the blue. "Did something happen?"

"No," Aria said firmly – maybe a little _too_ firmly. "I'm just… I think I just have a headache, that's all…"

Ezra and Jason – they were two completely different people. Sure, Jason had his faults, especially from his old drinking habits, but he was good in all. As for Ezra – she wasn't actually quite sure what to make of him.

"Ar?" Jason repeated.

"Fine," she mumbled, although she didn't fully meet his eye.

Jason – he was pure, and whole, and perfect. He was completely honest, and trustworthy and _safe_.

 _We're worried that he's going to hurt you because… because he's_ dangerous _and can't be trusted._

That was stupid – Jason would _never_ do anything to hurt her, and as she said before, he was honest, not a liar.

But now – now her head ached fit to burst, and she just couldn't _think_. Without a single word, she disappeared upstairs to her bedroom.

Jason was left downstairs, confused, and amongst tens of people he didn't know. And Aria… Aria had just gone – was this going to get any weirder?

When he realized no one was looking, Jason also slipped out of the crowd to Aria (with the exception of Ezra, who had stared him down, and made him feel _very_ uncomfortable). He knocked four times on the door, until he finally heard a faint, "Come in,"

Aria was on her bed, face-down, hugging Pigtunia close. She saw Jason and that only made more tears fall down. "Hullo,"

"Are you okay? What happened?" Jason asked quickly, sitting beside Aria, who had finally regained herself. Aria only sniffled, burying her face in her stuffed pig toy. "Ar… talk to me. Is it your friends? Family? Is it because of me?"

"No, it's not because of you, or my friends, or my family," Aria sobbed. "I… I haven't told you something that... you probably should know."

"Okay."

"But you have to promise me not to tell _anyone_ , not my parents, not the police-"

"-the police? It's _that_ serious?"

"Jason, you need to _promise_ me." Aria pressed. "Please, I'm begging you. I want… I need to tell you this, but you can't tell anyone else. It's important – it _has_ to be kept a secret.

Five minutes of more arguing and protesting, and Jason had finally but grudgingly agreed.

"Thatguydownstairstriedto…" Aria mumbled in one breath. "What I mean is… MrFitztriedtodosomethingwithme… no, I mean…"

"Ar, calm down," Jason said soothingly.

"Ezra… or… Mr Fitz," Aria started. "He tried to… he tried to…" she paused. "We met, the day before school started, in a bar. And… he seemed really nice. I may have put him under the impression that I was a college girl, and we kissed. I found out he was my teacher the following day at school, and avoided him as much as possible… Then there was the funeral, and I finally realized that if I wanted to get into a good college, I would need to man up and face him. I guess… I guess he wanted more than I was willing to give him…"

Jason looked at her, a horrified expression on his face. "That man… who was your ex-teacher, as you said, tried… tried to… _rape_ you?"

" _Keep your voice down_!" Aria exclaimed, as whisper-like as she could.

"I can't believe…" Jason ran a hand through his hair. He saw Aria on the verge of tears again, and he wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay… it's okay, Aria… you're safe with me… I won't let him hurt you again."

"Thank you," Aria smiled through her tears, and stood up, eyeing herself in the mirror. "God, I'm a mess."

"No offense, but you are," laughed Jason, and Aria smiled, glad that he was making a joke right at that moment.

And she kissed him again. She was grateful, she was happy, she was _safe_.

" _Ahem_ ," said a voice from outside. "Am I interrupting something?"

Their abrupt breaking caused them to bump foreheads, and when they saw Ella watching them, they immediately blurted out, " _No_!"

Rubbing his forehead, Jason said, "I'll be downstairs," And he left the two female Montgomerys alone.

"Well," Ella smirked. "that was quite a kiss."

"Mom…" Aria said nervously. "How much did you hear?" _If_ she found out about Ezra…

Ella shrugged. "Enough,"

"Mom, I'm being serious…" Aria said.

"Enough to see that you two are together – or at least, will be together…" Ella smiled. "So is Jason the mystery guy? I mean, at first I thought it was that guy with long-ish hair, but then I saw him with Hanna… Jason? I didn't really expect that."

"No one did." murmured Aria.

"Do you love him?" Ella asked, a little more quietly.

"I… I don't know yet," she admitted. In truth – she really didn't know yet. "I'm sure I will, eventually, but we haven't been together long. Officially, it's only been a month and a bit. But I really like him, and he's good to me."

Ella giggled. "I guess you never got over that little schoolgirl crush you had on him."

" _Mom_." Aria said in a warning tone.

* * *

After she had reapplied her makeup and straightened her hair, Aria returned to the dinner party, which had now officially begun. She sat at the table (fortunately, she was seated next to Jason, unfortunately, she was also seated next to Ezra).

"She knows," Aria whispered to Jason.

"Uh oh…" Jason mumbled. "Does she want to rip my head off?"

"No," Aria laughed. "Although my dad will… when he finds out, he'll go ballistic…"

Jason gulped slightly. "Let's just let your mom know. For now." He looked out in front of him and realized that Ella was eyeing him carefully. He turned back to Aria. "Are you sure your mom doesn't want to kill me? She's glaring at me."

"She isn't _glaring_ at you – she's just trying to picture us together," Aria rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Mr Worryguts…"

"What is it with those strange nicknames you keep calling me?" Jason propped up an eyebrow, laughing.

"It's a Hanna thing," Aria said, as she poured herself some water. She made a mental note to search up what _Mr Casanova_ really meant.

 _Ding dong_.

Aria peered confusedly at the door – were there more guests? She was pretty sure that Jason had been the last one…

 _Knock knock_.

"I'd better go see," said Ella as she made her way to the door.

"Mrs Montgomery?"

"Yeah," Ella said, before realizing exactly who was at the door. "Barry?"

"That's right…" Barry nodded. "Is your husband in?"

"Y-yes, he is," she nodded. "What's happening? Has anything…" Ella's eye caught Mike, who was sulking against the wall, a black hoodie hiding his face. "Mike… Mike! What… what did Mike do?"

"I need your husband and you to come to the station with your son," Barry said, ignoring her questions. "Quickly, please."

Ella ushered Byron to door, and as she left, she called, "Aria! Please take charge!"

Most of the guests, apart from Jason and Ezra, left in a flurry almost as soon as Ella took off with Byron and Mike. And for Aria – the taking charge was not going well. She clutched onto the pole for stability: this whole Mike was _her_ fault, _all her fault_.

Jason sat Aria down on the couch as he helped to tidy up the lounge area.

"Aria…"

"It's all my fault!" she exclaimed. "If I hadn't got my parents tangled up in this stupid, _stupid_ mess with Ian" _and A_ , she added in her head, "and everything else, Mike would've got more attention from Mom and Dad."

He shook his head fervently. "No, no, no, Mike doing this isn't because of you."

"How do you know?" she groaned.

Jason only sighed. "I know a lot about misplaced guilt," he paused. "Come here." When Aria shuffled closer to him, he wrapped his arms around her, placing a soft kiss upon her temple. At that moment, Aria's phone, from beside them, started ringing. As if it didn't just happen, Aria didn't move, completely ignoring it.

"Ar?" Jason said. "Your, um, phone is ringing."

She didn't move.

Jason picked it up, flipping it open, and handed it to Aria, who finally took it. "It's Spencer, it might be important."

"Fine," Aria mumbled, and she answered the incoming call. "Hello?"

" _Aria_!"

"Jesus Christ, keep your damned voice down, I think I have a migraine coming," Aria groaned as she got up from the couch and into one of the unused rooms. "And please – there are people around."

" _Why_?"

"Dinner party," she said briefly, knowing Spencer would freak if she said she was alone with Jason (who Aria trusted) _and_ Ezra (who she didn't). "Why are you calling me?"

" _Because_ ," Spencer's voice was in a quiet but venomous hiss. " _we found… well, I found some evidence_."

"Regarding…"

" _Him,_ " she finished.

Aria blinked twice and was silent for a while – it took her several moments to finally get to _who_ she was talking about. "Can you refrain from attacking my boyfriend for at least two minutes? What's this _amazing_ new evidence, then?"

" _I'll_ …" Spencer paused. " _I'll tell you later_."

Aria hung up without second thought, and returned to the lounge, where she realized that Jason was absent. She instead went to the kitchen, and found him – and boy was she glad he hadn't left. Goodness knew what could happen if she was left alone with _Ezra_.

"Aria," Ezra said, completely out of the blue.

Aria backed away. "E-Ezra,"

"Don't be scared of me," Ezra said. "Because it's never going to happen again… what happened. And I would really like to make amends because I like you a lot and I'm really, really, really sorry-"

"-please, just don't waste your breath." she muttered.

Having enough with all this nonsense and stupidity, Aria turned to both men, and declared, "I would like you two to leave. Please."

"Are you sure?" both Ezra and Jason said. If she hadn't been feeling so queasy and damn paranoid, she swore she could've laughed.

"I can still help you, you know." Ezra offered.

"Yeah, it's still a little messy in there." Jason said.

"I'm fine. Seriously. Honestly. Completely. _Fine_." Aria said firmly, and pushed them towards the door (well, she pushed Jason to the door, Ezra followed).

"Call me, 'kay?" Jason said softly.

Aria nodded. "Okay," Although she wasn't sure that with her brain clogged up, it'd be able to function enough for her to do that. When they finally left, Aria let herself fall onto the door, hitting her back hard and letting her fingers hit the metal.

With the pain, and the guilt, and the paranoia, she collapsed onto the ground, a hundred or so different emotions bubbling up inside of her.

* * *

 **Please review :) And yes, I'm pretty sure Aria had a schoolgirl crush on Jason before the whole Ali thing. At least, in the books she did XD which only makes my Jaria heart bigger :))**


	7. Phases

**Thank you to _Boris Yeltsin_ , _Joanna_ , _hey its me_ , _This is the best_ , _Cara Bellamie_ , _I AM IN LOVE_ and also _I am sad_ for reviewing. **

* * *

**phases**

* * *

 _all along it was a fever  
_ _a cold sweat hot-headed believer  
_ _threw my hands in the air  
_ _and said "tell me something"  
_ _— **rihanna**_

* * *

She was still weak from the events of the dinner party the day before (with the whole flurry of different emotions rushing to her, causing her to get zilch hours of sleep), so she limped into school, her face makeup-less, and her jumper back to front. Aria hurried into the bathroom before anyone could see her, and freshened herself up.

She slowly got herself up to walk to the cafeteria, where her friends were, and she slumped down on a chair at their normal table, placing her head on it.

"Aria?" Spencer asked as soon as cheek met surface. "Aria, we need to finish that conversation we started yesterday."

"I'm tired." Aria groaned. "I'm sick, I'm aching, I'm just so damn…" Her voice trailed off because she let her head rest on the table again, which, surprisingly, was very comfortable.

"Aria, what happened at the dinner party yesterday? Who was there?" Hanna asked quickly.

Aria groaned before answering; just thinking made her body burn. "People… people… just lots and lots of… people."

"Okay, please elaborate," Spencer rolled her eyes. "I mean, of course we thought aliens were dining with you, and so we wanted to see if you hadn't been abducted or if you'd spontaneously combusted."

"Implausible," Aria mumbled. "Fine, it was just a few people from Hollis… this elderly couple who lives just down the road, Nancy and Eliot… and…" Aria stopped herself, knowing that if she slipped that both Jason and Ezra had been their yesterday (and that she'd been seated _between_ them), Spencer would freak. The better option would be the keep her mouth shut and try not to get mad at her for trying to get Jason arrested every three seconds.

"And…?"

"And that's _all_. Can you leave me be now?"

Ignoring her, Spencer bent down and whispered in her ear, "Toby found a field hockey stick buried in Jason's front yard."

"Firstly, _leave my boyfriend alone_. Secondly, a _field hockey stick_? Wow, so _imaginative_!" Aria said in annoyance, laughing spitefully. "So what's this link between the field hockey stick and Jason?"

"It was the exact same stick that I lent Ali that summer." Spencer started. "Toby told me it could've been used to kill Alison. It could've been the murder weapon."

"A hockey stick, you mean?" Aria shook her head in disbelief. "Well, where is it then?"

"I… I don't have it. I asked my dad about it but then he got all, you know, jumpy, and then, he burned it," Spencer sighed. "I told him to stop but he didn't. I asked him about why he was doing it, but he didn't answer."

"Spencer, can I ask you something?" Aria didn't wait for Spencer to reply, because she was too angry, and immediately said in a loud voice, "Did I attack _your_ boyfriend when he supposedly tried to kill Emily, supposedly killed _Ali_?"

"Keep your voice down!" hissed Spencer.

" _I don't care_!" Aria said, with no means of lowering her voice. "What I'm saying is how _hypocritical_ this situation is. He _didn't_ do it. And I trust him. I trust him, _I trust him_. Have a nice day. Goodbye." And with that she stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving the other girls completely dumbfounded.

Hanna was the first to recover – "Look, guys, maybe… maybe Aria's right about Jason. And remember what she said before – we don't know him like she does. All we see him as is the freaky drug addict brother of Alison."

"Well, there's enough evidence to thrown Jason in prison." Emily noted.

"There _was_ , except _someone's_ dad burned it all," Hanna said, crossing her arms. "And Aria is right on how hypocritical this whole thing is – it _is_ exactly like Toby." Hanna too sauntered off, now only leaving Spencer and Emily in the cafeteria.

"I really don't care what Hanna and Aria think about Jason – because I think… no, I'm _positive_ he killed Alison, or at least, he helped," Spencer said, before her lips turned down into an angry frown. "Just… just _seeing_ the two together _sickens_ me. It's like he's using her as an act to get out of the horrible, _horrible_ mess he's in!"

"I feel like you're trying to do something," Emily started. "What are you trying to do?"

Spencer sighed and played with her hair. "This… it will break Aria's heart but… he could _hurt_ her. I still don't believe fully that he really is looking for a relationship with her – I still feel like it's some sort of protection… and we love Aria to bits and seeing her hurt… We need to break the two up, before she does get hurt, and we need to find solid evidence that he _did_ do it."

Emily nodded. "I think you're right."

Whatever they were going to do – they knew it was wrong on so many levels, but it was right too. And they needed to break Aria and Jason up, before Jason did _anything_ to her.

Emily said a quick goodbye to Spencer, and walked off to her first lesson, which she now realized she shared with Aria. She first decided to go to her locker to kill time, after all, Aria hated her guts at the moment.

Emily suddenly felt a shot of pain sear through her and she grunted. It hit her again, and again, and again, and soon she was on the floor, panting heavily. The pain got to her once again and she groaned out loud, claiming the attention of many passers-by.

"Em!"

Aria running towards her was the last thing she saw before she passed out on the floor.

* * *

Emily's sudden passing-out had been explained – it was caused by pressure or something, resulting in a very painful ulcer. Emily was pretty certain it was because of two things in particular that were pressurizing her – one being the whole faking the scholarship letter from Danby, and the other being the whole trying to break up Jason and Aria situation. And on top of all of that, there was the whole A mess that she seemed to be forever tangled him.

Spending five consecutive days at the hospital was scarring – especially with A's latest message, which was assisted by a lovely get well soon gift.

 **HEY EM!  
SOME COFFEE WITH YOUR CREAM?  
—A**

God, when was she ever going to stop jumping at each text message, stop being so freaking scared? Anything – _anything_ – could be lurking around in the shadows, anything – _anyone_ – could be planning on some grand plan to murder her and her best friends.

For the time being, Spencer and Emily's plan had been on hold, and so had Aria's plan to ignore them as much as possible. After all, following the recent events, they had to keep together. Garrett Reynolds had suddenly wound his way into the girl's lives – both social _and_ private – and it had been sketchier by the minute. And making links with Garrett – that only lead back to _him_.

 _Jason_.

It was only a matter of time before Emily and Spencer had slipped up again and poured their theories to Aria – who they hoped would take the hint and get rid of Jason. Hanna backed away from the plan immediately, and as for Aria – she was back to 'don't bother me, I'm pissed'.

"I still can't believe she does not understand that Jason is freaking dangerous!" Spencer exclaimed to Emily as they sat in the courtyard. Aria was lunching with some random kids from her art classes, and Hanna was with Caleb, ever so often peering at Aria, before sighing and turning away.

"Both of them, you mean," Emily said. "Hanna's pretty convinced Jason's innocent – and it isn't because she thinks he's okay-looking, she's really sincere about this whole thing."

"Well, she's wrong, and so is Aria," Spencer said in exasperation. "Because _Jason_ is _guilty_! And… oh my goodness…"

"What is it?" Emily asked curiously.

"That's it, Jason not only killed Ali, but he is A." Spencer hissed.

"What?" Emily questioned. "That's… Spence _, are you mad_?"

"Listen, A sees all, okay? And so he must've seen our plan to break him and Aria off, and he got mad, and somehow got you that ulcer," Spencer said. "It all fits in together! He must've been scared that we'd blow his cover up and so he delayed our plans!"

Emily gasped, she too matching the pieces up. However, she was not entirely convinced. "But…"

"Did I tell you about his real shadiness when I visited him?" Spencer queried.

"You _visited_ him?"

"Yes," Spencer nodded. "but don't tell Aria. I guess I didn't tell you about it."

"No…" Emily shook her head.

"I was looking for Toby and was wondering if he was still there," Spencer started. "He wasn't, and I was about to return home, but then Jason saw me and asked me why I was there. And we started talking, well, _he_ started talking, quickly, nervously… He said that the cops mostly saw him as pain in an ass because he asked too many questions – so I offered to help him, and he asked about the bell tower. He was really… urgent, if that's the word. He kept on asking if Ian had properly confessed – and he did then, but now we know Ian was innocent all along."

Emily nodded.

"Remember when he was acting really suspicious when we started talking about how he needed 'privacy'? Aria wasn't with us, but he was acting strangely and was just so… guarded." Spencer said.

Emily nodded again, adding, "I remember." She then gulped. "Okay, we are _so_ crossing off Phase One." Nodding, Spencer picked up her notebook, flipping to the page filled with their very detailed planning,

 _Phase One: Investigate Jason privately, break in his house if possible._

"Let's swap it with Phase Three." Spencer said, pointing further down their list.

 _Phase Three: Convince Aria that Jason is bad for her._

"That's even harder!" Emily exclaimed. "Considering her recent moods, Aria will bite our heads off – no kidding. God, she won't hear the end of it!"

"Phase Two?"

 _Phase Two: Find the missing autopsy page. Page number five._

Emily looked out uncertainly in front of her – back at the hospital, Hanna had pulled Aria to one of the store rooms to look for Alison's autopsy. The autopsy was there alright, but page number five wasn't – and that was the page regarding how the murder was placed and the possible murder weapons which were involved in it all.

"If Jason is A, the page would be in his house – that's exactly the same as Phase One!" Emily groaned. "Spence… can we please stop thinking and talking about this?"

"Em, Jason's _A_ -"

"And I literally just got released from the hospital, and all of this is doing my head in…" Emily pressed her fingers against her forehead. "Please… no more about A, or about Jason…"

* * *

'Pissed' didn't cover what Aria was feeling at the moment – she was just so… _fed up_ with Spencer and Emily's (and probably Hanna's too, although she did seem genuinely sorry) stupid, crazy and completely incorrect theories about how Jason was A and how Jason was the murderer and how Aria should breakup with said 'murderer' because he was dangerous and could possibly be attempting to kill her. Aria stormed through the school, ignoring Hanna, who seemed to be trying to small talk with her, and ignoring Spencer and Emily, who seemed to be trying to big talk her around again. A sly smile approached her face as she entered Jason's office.

"Aria! You scared me!" Jason laughed, clutching onto a few yellow files as Aria came in.

"Oh, did I?" Aria joked before sighing. "Is it getting hot in here?" Aria fake fanned herself with her hands. "Are _you_ hot?" Aria looked at Jason, before reaching for her top. She took it off, leaving her in a very skimpy black lace vest.

"I am now..." Jason mumbled, eyeing her body. And without precaution, Aria walked up to him and kissed him with a passion more passionate than anything. He responded almost immediately by snaking his arms around her petite frame, kissing her back fervently. He lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning as his tongue nipped into her mouth. They landed on the couch, still kissing, until Jason glanced at the clock, in which he pulled way abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Aria panted.

"Well, I'm seeing a kid in about twenty-five seconds." Jason said, almost laughing. "Although it is a quick meeting thing – I'll meet you outside in fifteen minutes or something."

Aria pouted. "And then we'll carry this on later." she whispered. Aria then picked up her top and put it back on, before leaving the room. As she left his office, she saw Hanna walking in her direction and her good mood altered into an "I'm pissed again" mood. Or at least, an "I'm more than pissed mood".

"Hey, Aria." Hanna said hesitantly when she approached Aria.

"Hanna." Aria nodded curtly at her, sliding her fingers down the hem of her bag.

"How are you doing?" Hanna asked.

Aria rolled her eyes and started to walk away. _Small talker_.

"Aria!" Hanna exclaimed, gently taking hold of her arm. "You have every right to be pissed at us…"

"Oh, I'm pissed all right." Aria muttered.

"But Aria, please, listen. I don't know what they're planning." Hanna admitted. "I've been avoiding them as much as you have."

"Right," Aria remarked, lingering in her spot – she was waiting for a proper explanation. "Shoot."

"Look… what I'm trying to say is that…" she paused. "Jason may seem suspicious in more than one way… but so was Paige, and Toby, even Caleb was. And yet you trusted them, and I think we should too. You know Jason for more than just Ali's creepy older brother – you trust him."

Aria furrowed her brow, crossing her arms.

"I don't know how to put this but… but I'm accepting you being with Jason," Hanna then shook her head at herself. "No, there shouldn't have been any 'accepting' in the first place. If Jason is good to you, and really lo – likes you, we shouldn't be worrying about anything."

Aria smiled weakly before throwing her arms around Hanna. "Did you… did you mean all of that?"

"Of course," Hanna said. "I couldn't bear to lose you over a silly little thing. I think Jason really cares about you, and you deserve a happy relationship – as does he, after Alison and everything that's been going on in Rosewood."

Aria pulled away from the hug, taking Hanna's arm as she walked to her own locker. She looked at herself in the mirror, before turning back to Hanna.

"Thank you, thank you for all you said," Aria said. "I haven't been the nicest person recently… but I was just so… _angry_!"

"As I said, you deserve a happy relationship." Hanna smiled genuinely at her best friend. It would be a lie to say she had trusted Jason from the beginning – but now she realized that he'd done nothing wrong except for maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And anyway, ever since she had got back together with Caleb, she felt like she, Spencer and Emily were judging Jason too harshly. Aria had said nothing bad about her dating the sketchy guy from I.T; she hadn't even commented something crazy about how Hanna had kept Caleb in her basement.

"Spencer and Emily will come around," Hanna said reassuringly.

"Yeah, by the time we're fifty," Aria said bitterly. "Look, there's Jason," Aria saw Jason in the courtyard. "I'll see you later, maybe."

"Okay." Hanna waved at Aria, her too having caught sight of her significant other.

Aria walked over to Jason, surprising him with a kiss. She saw Spencer with Toby not far away, and kissed him again, just in spite of the two.

"Aria?" Jason asked as soon as they broke apart. "I still think you put _way_ too much sugar in your coffee."

Aria ignored him, pulling Jason towards Spencer's table. Jason trailed behind, confused beyond belief.

"Hello, _Spence_ , long time, no see," Aria smiled a fake smile, and nudged Jason, who flinched. He felt really awkward – he knew that Spencer was glaring at her, and it made him really uncomfortable. "Toby! Hullo there. _Jason_." Aria nudged him again.

"I, uh," Jason stammered, before lowering his voice. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

"Well, I'll leave you two to it." Aria said, pulling Jason away again.

"Definitely a sugar overdose," Jason muttered as they walked away again.

* * *

"Aria hates me." Spencer said as Toby dug in the ground at Jason's house.

"Maybe, you should give Jason andAria a _rest_." Toby mumbled, looking up from the shovel. "I mean, how would you feel if Aria was digging into my life like that? And even before – she didn't."

"Yeah, but you did nothing wrong," Spencer protested. "I think Hanna and Emily hate me too. Hanna's apologised to Aria and now she's like her bodyguard, and won't even let _me_ apologise. And I know Em's been avoiding me, ever since I… um… _approached_ her."

Toby rolled his eyes. "I said that maybe you're getting a bit..."

"Whoa, don't go there!"

Both Spencer and Toby turned their attention to Jason and another guy who seemed to have been working for him – they stood in front of an old shed.

"That's private, stay out!" Jason warned the guy. Spencer and Toby exchanged several looks between each other. Spencer made a mental note to herself:

 _Phase Four: Find out what is in Jason's shed._

* * *

"And every time you manage to get my head to burst with the stupid theories," Emily groaned as Spencer pulled her out of her house. "I thought the last time would actually _be the last time_ , but no! You do it _again_!"

"A _shed_ , Emily." Spencer said firmly.

"Yeah, Spencer, we all have one in our back garden," Emily said.

"He's keeping something in there." Spencer said, pulling the torch closer towards her. "This is the last chance we possibly have on finding evidence."

"I… okay…" Emily said, now completely in on it. This was the last chance in which they could blow Jason's cover and finally uncover him for who he really was. Carefully and quietly, they snuck into his garden, moving swiftly towards the very same shed.

"Shit, it's locked." murmured Emily, as she tried to open the doors.

"Well, what do you expect? He's A, and so he probably triple quadruple locked it." Spencer said, clicking her tongue. She looked around, tiptoeing to see if anything was on the roof. And there was: she grabbed the key and shoved it roughly into the padlock. "It's not working!" she groaned.

Emily did what she knew would work. She kicked the padlock hard enough so it cracked and Spencer ran the sharpness of the key through it. The doors opened with such a creak they winced. With hushed tones and sharp breaths, they entered the contents, which was pitch black.

"Um, Spence, maybe this was a bad idea..." Emily said, scared.

"Wait!" Spencer took the torch from Emily and shone it on the walls.

Pictures. Lots and lots of them. There were boxes too, filled to the brim with even more pictures. On the side she saw some newspapers stapled together, all regarding a certain someone's' death and disappearance. Emily looked under one of the tables, and there was, yet again, another box full of pictures.

And all of it – the pictures, the newspapers – were of Alison DiLaurentis.


	8. Picture This

**No time jump, just carries on from the last chapter. And to _Boris Yeltsin_ : Thank you for reviewing, and sure, just PM me for your thoughts, and I might use the in the future.**

* * *

 **picture this**

* * *

 _would you tell me i was wrong?  
would you help me understand?  
are you looking down on me now?  
are you proud of who i am?  
_ ** _— christina aguilera_**

* * *

They were scattered around, across the small, small space, pinned up on every inch of every wall, buried in the corners – anywhere possible there was something that was, in any way, related to Alison, or her case.

Emily shone the flashlight in further, as Spencer looked around, uncovering the books to see only more books, throwing the clothes in a different pile only to see more clothes just lying about.

In the corner of her eye, Spencer spotted a stick – a field hockey stick – propped up against one of the walls (with an unmistakable newpaper with the heading _Missing Girl Found?_ stuck onto the scrappy wall). It got her perplexed, because surely, the field hockey stick found in his front yard had been burnt by Spencer's dad, had it not? The flames, Spencer saw them with her own eyes. The field hockey stick that they found was, more or less, in ashes.

 _Bang! Crash!_ A voice. Another voice.

In a startle, Emily dropped the torch, and dragged Spencer out of the shed, and they ran, and ran, and ran, and didn't stop until they were well away from the DiLaurentis house.

Breathless, Spencer spoke first – "Our suspicions were correct," She paused. "Jason killed Alison."

Emily looked convinced, but regretful. She sighed, and looked down. "Are you... are you _absolutely_ sure?"

"Yeah, Em, what did we just see in there?" Spencer remarked. "Boxes and boxes of Ali's old junk. It's probably because he couldn't have anything that could possibly throw him into jail."

Emily bit on her lip, "Spencer, I doubt a box of bras would get him _arrested_."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "This is no laughing matter," she said. "Obviously, keeping all that stuff locked up and hidden away would be better than throwing everything away. He kept everything of her's in there so he could wait until he was completely in the clear."

Emily's expression was now unreadable. "But ** _—_** "

"But what?" Spencer interrupted. "Jason's always been guilty, I'm sure of it. Like when I gave him that plate of cupcakes – god, even _Melissa_ downright told me that he was capable, and that he 'couldn't be trusted'."

Emily creased her eyebrows. "Wait, you brought Jason cupcakes?"

Spencer shrugged. "It's a long story, okay?"

Emily shrugged, too. "We don't have a lot of time, but tell me anyways."

Spencer looked behind her, and then back out and Emily. "I just wanted to be the nice neighbour. Melissa caught me, and I told them I was bringing them to Jason. I... sort of got... personal, and talked about Ian, in which she told me that..." Spencer paused. "That, well, Jason wasn't the kind of person you could really depend on."

Emily waited for Spencer to talk; Spencer waited for Emily to talk. Until:

" _Aria_!" both of them exclaimed, voices strained, and expressions pained. If Jason really was this monster who had all of it under his own fingertips (as Spencer believed), and if Jason really _could not be depended on,_ then _what_ would happen to Aria?

"We have to..." Spencer groaned. "She won't believe us, she won't believe us – we need a photo, or some... some _proof_ that tells us that Jason's Ali's killer – that Jason is _A_!" Spencer kept looking back and forth – at Emily, and then behind her, towards Jason's house.

Immediately, Emily shook her head. "I am _not_ going back in there."

"But then what are we going to do? Aria's convinced that Jason is innocent, and like all the other times, she'll... she'll just... let's not think about that," she quickly said. "But _really_ , Emily, we can't just leave her in the arms of Alison's killer!"

"Well..." started Emily. "I _was_ convinced, but now... I'm not so sure."

" _What_?"

"It was just pictures, Spencer, pictures. Some clothes. Newspapers. It might not even _be_ him," started Emily. "I don't care what you have to say now, but what I'm saying is that maybe he's innocent ** _—_** "

"Yeah, Em," said Spencer. "Let's just ignore the fact that he moved in _by himself_ , with no one, like, I don't know, _his parents_ , to help him with his decorating."

"What if it's A who's framing him?"

"What if _he's_ A?" Spencer intercepted. "Look, Emily, 'Jason killed Alison' was written on the wall back there. _In blood_." She stopped. "And you still think there's a chance of being innocent? Melissa knows him well, and she told me that I had to _be careful around him_."

"Yeah, Melissa knows him well," Emily said. "But Aria knows him better."

Spencer gaped at her best friend. "So you're chickening out _just like that_?"

"No," Emily said. "Are you?" She paused again. "You know, what Spencer? Aria was right – this is _just_ like the Toby situation. You don't get things more hypocritical, you know?"

And then she was gone. _Just like that_.

* * *

"I never expected..." Aria shook her head over and over again as she walked down the lane with Jason. Jenna and Garrett had been... well, to say the least, they had been so _disturbing_ , because... god, she didn't want to think about it any more.

Jason, too, shuddered, and looked out in front of him. "That was her. He always had someone at his arm, but I was too drunk to realise who it was," He paused, and sighed. "But now we know now – Jenna Marshall."

 _Bang!_

Both Jason and Aria stopped their tracks, and looked behind them, because that was presumably where the sudden commotion was coming from.

 _Crash!_

 _Bang!_

The last noise was much louder than the previous ones combines, and it sounded as if it wasn't far-off at all. Jason squinted, and saw, in the corner of his eye, the lights in his shed on, and the door open.

Aria looked up from her phone, and tapped Jason gently on the shoulder.

"My mom wants me back urgently," she explained. "I'll see you tomorrow, at school." When Jason nodded, Aria kissed him for a few moments, before pulling back quickly, walking off in the other direction. This left Jason alone, to investigate what those sounds were and why his shed was _open_.

He walked on, into his yard.

" _Fuck_ ," Jason walked in to see properly, and it was more than clear that someone had broken into his shed.

His phone suddenly buzzed, and he took it out to check the text.

 **Is everything alright at home? Did you find out what the noise was?  
** ** _—_ Aria**

 **Yeah. Someone broke in.  
 ** _—_ Jason**  
**

He waited for a reply.

 **Well... it couldn't have been Mike. He's been locked up in his room since Saturday.  
** ** _—_ Aria**

 **I didn't go there. And it's not my house... my shed.  
** ** _—_ Jason** **  
**

 **Oh. Do you want me to come over?  
** ** _—_ Aria** **  
**

 **No, it's fine. Goodnight.  
 ** _—_ Jason****

He checked the last text message sent to him.

 **Goodnight.  
** ** _—_ Aria**

* * *

For Spencer and Emily, the next morning at school was nothing 'ordinary'.

For Aria and Jason, the next morning at school was nothing 'extraordinary'.

It all started off with Spencer grabbing Emily and pulling her into the janitor's closet the moment she set foot at school. Emily looked at her questioningly, and she replied with only a finger to her lips.

" _Spencer_ ," Emily said firmly. "I don't have enough ti-"

"She's _right_ there," hissed Spencer, in a low voice. "What do we do?"

Emily blinked at her several times. "Apologise?"

"No," Spencer shook her head. "We tell her about yesterday."

"But we both agreed that that _wouldn't_ work!"

"Yeah, but we can try!" Without another word from either of them, Spencer hauled Emily out again, and they took the two empty seats in front of Aria, who was drinking coffee while reading. Noticing their presence, she looked up, and then crossed her arms. She sat uncomfortably, and waited, and waited, and waited.

"We're sor-"

"We have proof on something," Spencer beat her to the punch, and sent Emily a look as she rolled her eyes, and slumped back down, letting Spencer do all the work – letting Spencer do all the failing. "We saw it, with out own eyes but... you might hate us forever but... we're just looking out for you."

"I'm listening," Aria said: this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"We broke into Jason's shed last night," Spencer said. "And we saw ** _—_** "

"So it was _you two_ who broke into his shed," Aria said, with accusatory built high in her voice. "I should've known. I should've known."

"Wait, you knew that someone broke into his shed last night?" asked Emily.

"Yes," replied Aria. "I did. And I should've known better, I really should have, because – god, I knew didn't trust him, but I didn't know you would go _that far_ and _break into his fucking shed_. But I should have known. I _should have known_."

"Pictures! Of Ali! _All_ of Ali! Newspapers, dating back to when she went missing! He clothes; her books – they were _all_ of Ali!" Spencer exclaimed, her voice exasperated. "A _field hockey stick_!"

This was nothing 'extraordinary' for Aria.

This was everything 'extraordinary' for Spencer (and Emily).

* * *

When she sat with him at the Apple Rose Grille after school, and talked about nonsense, really, Aria couldn't help but feel distracted. And confused. And... betrayed.

She stared up at Jason sipping at his coffee, and he looked so... so... vulnerable. In a sense, it made her want to just give up and throw her arms around him; act like nothing ever happened.

"Jason," Aria started nervously.

"Uhuh?" he said.

"I know," Aria muttered.

"Know what?"

"I _know_ ," Aria repeated, deliberately trying to avoid telling him altogether, except the way she had started it, she knew she would have to tell him the truth. Inevitably. "I know, Jason, I know." She paused. "I – Iknowwhobrokeintoyourshedlastnight."

Jason gaped at her. "You what now?"

"It was Spencer and Emily!" she said, raising a her voice. "Spencer and Emily broke into your shed last night! I – I didn't know until they told me. This morning. But... I know. And I thought you should know – wait, that was stupid. Of course you should know."

Jason looked at her as if he'd been stabbed or something. "I – oh."

"You had pictures of Alison," jumped Aria. "You had her clothes, too. And her books – all of the stuff you had was of Ali. You had newspapers about the whole case – and – and – and a field hockey stick." Once the whole sentence was out of her mouth, Aria could not have regretted anything more.

"So..." Jason started. "It was your friends who broke into my shed." He stopped, and looked out of the window laughing sarcastically. "Man, this town never changes, does it? What's next?"

"Jason, I know that you wouldn't do... anything like that," The words tasted strange in her mouth. "I know that you would never ever do something like that to Alison, and I know that Spencer and Emily are a pair of... idiots. But can you tell me why?"

Jason didn't look at her. "So you're not in this whole 'break in' thing?"

"No!" Aria said quickly. "Of course not!"

Jason nodded, somewhat reluctantly, and then closed his eyes for a millisecond. "When you think of Alison, what... what do you wish you could say to her?"

Not expecting this question, Aria looked at him, confused, before it started to hit her, and she started to think. "I don't know."

Jason nodded again. "Neither do I. Not exactly. But I know that... that I'd tell her something along the lines of 'sorry', you know?"

Aria peered at him. "But she's the one who should be 'sorrying', no? _She_ was the one who manipulated you. But anyway, that doesn't answer my question."

Jason looked down. "I'd say I'm sorry. But she's not here anymore, so I can't. And I decided that... if she was ever to come back, I'd... show her all the stuff I kept. The St. Germains – they were going to throw a whole load out. My parents, too. But I couldn't watch it go, because like her, it's too... full of life." He sighed. "And... it's my way of giving her an apology. Unspoken. But... an apology all the same."

"But it was hidden away in the shed," Aria said, still confused.

"I didn't want to be reminded of her," Jason shrugged. "Because... because that would make me feel guilty – so guilty that I'd probably do something absolutely _drastic_. I just... didn't want a reminder of her, but I didn't quite want to forget her, either."

Aria nodded slowly, and tried to reassure him by placing her hand on top of hers. She couldn't say anything, because she had no more to say – no answer. How _was_ she supposed to react to something like this?

"I think I loved her," Jason said. "No, I definitely did. She's my sister. And now," He played with his spoon. "she's gone. Just like that. Gone."

Still, she had nothing to say.

"I'm guessing you feel the same," Jason said. "And I'm also guessing that you'd like a few things? It wasn't all clothes and books, you know. There was a few boxes – jewellery ones, they looked like."

"You're willing to give us some of her old stuff?" asked Aria.

"It would do me a favour, I guess," laughed Jason.

A few moments passed, before a light laugh reached Aria's face. Jason looked at her strangely, and then asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Aria shook her head. "You're just... I can see why you're a counsellor." Her laugh turned into a disgusted frown as she looked out of the window, and caught sight of a prim, prissy brunette she knew all too well.

"Hey, isn't that Spencer?" asked Jason bluntly.

"And Toby," Aria said bitterly, and she pulled Jason with her, toward them. "You spy on us? You have the nerve to _spy_ on us?"

Spencer's hands went up defensively. "I'm sorry that I'm–"

"First you break into Jason's house, and then you spy on us," Aria shook her head, and already the tears were forming in her eyes, swimming around. _Stop being so fucking weak_ , she cried to herself, and so she clenched her fists, and walked even more towards her. "Trust only gets you _so_ _far_ , Spencer. Pick a side."

Aria stormed off, and it left Jason in an awkward position. A hysterical Spencer looked at him, and a baffled Toby shrugged at him. "Melissa," Spencer said to him. "Melissa told me all about you, you know?"

Jason looked down. "I'm sorry." And then he was off, too.

"Aria," he called out, trying to keep up with her. "Aria, are you okay?"

"Nope," Aria groaned. "My supposed friend doesn't trust me, and I don't know if I should trust _her_ , either."

"I'm sorry," Jason said admittedly. "I'm really sorry, because this is mostly my fault."

"Shut up," Aria said. "It's not your fault. I just... I want to be left alone."

"Promise to call me later?" Jason asked.

Aria nodded. "Uhuh," As Jason waved and started to leave, Aria stopped him, her mouth opening, and then closing, and then opening again. "Jason, I – I..." She stopped. "I'm glad that you're here. Right now."

Jason smiled, too. "Me too."

Aria arrived home in a matter of minutes, and that was when she could finally be all by herself. She sat on the couch, her face buried deep within her hands, and she started to cry. Recently, that was what she'd been doing a lot of.

 _Knock knock_.

Aria looked up, for even just a second, and walked to the door, wiping her eyes hastily in the process. She opened it, and almost closed it the moment she saw who was on the other side.

"Spencer Hastings," Aria said blankly.

"Aria," Spencer said. "Aria, I – I... I'm so sorry."

"Good. For you," Aria answered, still in her blankest voice.

"You're my best friend!" she exclaimed, almost hopelessly. "You're my best friend, and I've realised that for the past... I don't know... few weeks, I've been acting completely the opposite." _Almost like Ali_ , Aria was about to add. "I've made you dreadfully unhappy – and me too, because I devoted my life on it, even if there was no reason to."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Nice speech, Spence. But I need my time."

"Ari," Spencer looked as if she'd burst into tears any moment now. "I – I understand."

"Good."

"I'm still sorry."

Silence. More silence. Even more silence.

"Damn it," Aria cursed, and she really, _really_ hated the fact that she could be so weak, and give up within two heartbeats. "Come here." Aria wrapped her arms around Spencer, and it felt strange, being the vertically challenged one, looking after the taller one. But she didn't care – she knew that Spencer had been unbearable to be with for the past weeks, but she missed her like hell, and never ever wanted to lose her like she almost just had done.

"I love you, Spence," Aria murmured.

"I love you, too, Ari," Spencer gladly returned.

(And this was neither ordinary nor extraordinary. Not for them.)

* * *

Two weeks passed like two seconds – a blur, it was one huge blue that made them question if fourteen days had actually passed, or if it was just the world spinning a little too fast. It was two weeks filled with a sudden placidity, something they swore they hadn't had since Jason first came in to the picture (since Toby and Caleb, too) – of course, A was still right there, at their tracks, but that was obvious. And of course, Spencer had found yet more evidence of Jason being connected to A in some way ( _see_ : N.A.T Club), but that was obvious, too. But for the time being, she was going to keep her mouth shut, because she'd just got Aria back, and she wasn't going to risk losing her again.

In some ways, two weeks passed like an aeon. Like the mystery of Ali's death that still hung upon us, going _solve me! solve me!_ until they went out of their freaking mind. Like the lies, that only kept rolling, and never stopped. Like how A had made Emily feel like she was 'the weakest link', and how it took forever and a day to convince Emily that it was just A messing with her brain.

But things, they were turning back to normal. Not maybe like it used to, from before Alison disappeared, but normal as in, having a sleepover at Hanna's house.

Things had been going normal – they'd talked about all things normal sixteen-year-old girls talked about, evading anything _remotely_ close to A. Truth be told, they were still frightened of what A could do to them, despite being packed so closely together, far from everything. A was everywhere. A saw all.

After they had tried to get some sleep, Aria was the first to wake up. She nudged Hanna (like she always did), and they both woke up. Hanna nudged Spencer, who would then proceed to nudge Emily – except, Emily was not there.

"Where's Em?" groggily asked Spencer.

"Emily? Em?" Hanna raised her voice, and looked around, even if she wasn't there.

"She's... she's at swimming practice. Right?" Aria asked, the fear seeping in her voice.

"I told you, she's not allowed near the pool," Spencer mumbled. "Not since her ulcer, remember?"

Hanna looked around at her best friends. She then looked past them and at where Emily had been sleeping, beside the bed. Her bags filled with clothes were still there, untouched. "Guys, all her clothes are still in here!" Then she turned serious – well, as serious as a Hanna could get. "Do you think she did something crazy?"

"Like what?"

"Like jump in her car and burn rubber until she reached Texas?"

"And leave everything behind? She didn't even take her phone!" Spencer exclaimed.

"I wouldn't either, if I were her," murmured Aria. Then, she took hold of Emily's cellphone, and flipped it open, revealign a picture. Her heart started pounding ( _thump thump thump thump_ ). "Oh my... _god_."

"What?" Hanna and Spencer edged closer to Aria holding Emily's phone, and they took a look at the photo – neither of them had to ask, because it was more than crystal clear who it was – Aria and _Mr_ _Fitz_. It was identical to the picture A had threatened Aria with so many months before, with Aria being pushed onto the wall by Ezra, who was kissing and forcing on her a little rougher than most. It looked harmless from a few metres back, like a couple, sharing a beautiful kiss.

"That's you. And Mr Fitz," stammered Spencer. They all looked at the message that came with.

 **Clue Ella in, and I'll let you out.  
** **_—_ A** **  
**

Aria gasped, and she wondered if Emily had...

"No," Hanna shook her head fervently. "Emily would never do this – she'd never rat you out."

"Well... what do we do?" Spencer asked.

"We tell the one person we can actually trust to not tell _anybody_ about this."

"And _do_ we trust anyone to not tell anybody about this?" Aria gave Spencer a questioning look, and she only nodded her head in reply.

* * *

They arrived at Dr Sullivan's office, still quite reluctant, yet all ready to barge in and spill all the tiny little details. She had been there for the girls before, when they were taking therapy for a short period of time – they could trust her. At least, more than someone outside their group.

They sat down on the coach in utter silent, until someone bust into the room.

"Hi," she said. "I'm ready to talk." It was Emily.

"Good," Dr Sullivan smiled at her. "Come in and join us." Emily entered properly, and looked one by one at her friends, baffled that they were _right there_ , sitting there. "You're friends have been worried about you."

"Em, why didn't you at least wake me?" Hanna exclaimed. "I was sleeping, like, _five feet_ away from you!"

"I can't keep asking my friends to take care of me," was all Emily was able to say.

"Emily, look, if you were _seriously_ thinking about going to Texas..."

"I didn't have any plans," Emily started, and she shook her head at Spencer. "I just knew that the longer I stayed here, the worse it was going to get, and I'm not going to be used as a bowling ball to knock down my best friends."

"Emily, we're sitting here because of you," said Aria.

"Yeah, none of us think that you are–"

"The weakest link?" Emily scoffed. "Yeah, well, somebody else does."

At this point, Dr Sullivan interrupted. "Who? Who's using you to knock down your friends?"

"Somebody that's been trying to hurt us," said Spencer.

"For a long time," added Hanna.

"They send us threats. Texts. Notes," Aria added on even more.

"When did these threats begin? Did the texts and the notes start coming after Alison's funeral?" Dr Sullivan queried.

"Before," they said simultaneously.

"At first we thought they were coming from Alison, but then they found her – her body. The messages – they were labelled with 'A'. They are all labelled with 'A'," admitted Spencer.

"And you don't have any clue who this... 'A' person might be?" asked Dr Sullivan.

"We do, but we've been wrong before," muttered Emily admittedly.

"A is an expert at making other people look guilty," groused Hanna.

"Do we think this person goes to your school?" Dr Sullivan asked, whilst noting a few things down.

"Maybe," shrugged Aria, in all seriousness. "But it's not like we go home and we're suddenly safe. A is everywhere, constantly on us – like a shadow."

"And _I'm_ the first person you've told about this? Why have you waited so long to say something?" Dr Sullivan looked at all of them, and they did not dare look up; only at the ground. "I'll... I've got all the information I need, and I'll call you as soon as I find something."

* * *

It was a while until they got that call from her. But they did. Eventually.

And now they were outside her office, at about nine in the evening, cold, _freezing_ , and definitely scared.

Dr Sullivan wasn't in the room, which baffled the lot of them, because Emily had received the call, and she'd told them to meet her in her office, _as soon as possible_.

Then, each of their phones went off.

 **The doctor is out.  
** ** _—_ A**

* * *

 **(Picture that.)**


	9. Trust Test

**Okay, so before I explode, a quick recap on the finale: I. Do. Not. Understand. It was sad, yes, it was, and it's going to take a lot of time for me to heal, but** _ **I do not understand**_ **, It doesn't make sense – the acting was brilliant, and it was all emotional, heartbreaking, fucking** _ **scary**_ **, but** _ **what even**_ **?** _ **AND OH MY GOD I THOUGHT JASON WAS DEAD GOD DAMN GOD DAMN**_ **. Marlene, you did amazingly, but please make more sense next time.. O.O..**

 **Not that but is done, please enjoy this chapter! Just to say, this is completely AU.**

* * *

 **trust test**

* * *

 _you and i can walk on water_  
 _the river rises, we rise above_  
 _it may not look that way right now_  
 _trust me, baby, this is love_  
 _—_ _ **tina arena**_

* * *

In the history of watching horror movies, not once did they ever consider that their life would become that haunted house of the creepy bats, and the zombies, and all the little murders they watched only behind a screen. Not once did they ever consider that there would be that moment in life when they knew that they were double crossed.

The doctor being... _out_ – did that mean she was gone? _Just like that_? What did it mean? Repeat: _what did it mean_?

"Do you think A... did something?" stammered Spencer as she looked around at her best friends. The girls in return looked back, stuttering, stammering, unsure of what to do. They knew that A had no limit to its capabilities, but they couldn't _possibly_... Taking Dr Sullivan away would be easy – too easy, A couldn't have. _A couldn't have_.

"Should we call the cops?" Aria asked.

"Do you really think that would be a good idea?" Emily propped up an eyebrow.

"Yes," Hanna said in a voice smaller than most. "Because are we _seriously_ going to go around running in circles again? This – this has happened too many times, it has. And _we_ won't be able to solve it – not ourselves."

They knew that what Hanna was saying was true in more than a hundred different ways, but they knew, as before, that A would never stop to do anything it was going to.

They let themselves wander back to Spencer's house, minds not quite in plave.

"I still think we should call the cops," remarked Hanna.

"Seconded," grimly nodded Aria.

As they sat down at her table as they usually always did in a fiasco like this, they went to though the range of possibilities – like _if_ A had taken Dr Sullivan like they had first suspected so. Like if this was all just a joke. Like if _Dr Sullivan herself was A_. It was unlikely, but in a word in which they were living, anything was pretty much possible.

Spencer's phone went off, and she excused herself to take the call, walking over to the far corner.

"Who's still on our A list?" asked Aria, out of the blue.

"Well," started Emily.

Spencer came back with a worried expression on her face – she seemed to refuse to tell them what was going on, so they ignored the fact that she'd just gone, and concentrated more on Dr Sullivan, and _where the fuck she was_. Aria looked from Spencer to Emily, then from Emily to Hanna, and then to the cabinet with the mirror on, where her reflection blinked back up at her. Their life was a mess, and that was putting it charitably.

"So what we supposed to do?" asked Hanna, a bit of edginess and impatience pushing her words; the other girls were pretty much all the same. "We can't just... just _let_ A take Dr Sullivan. If..."

"Maybe we don't have a choice," mumbled Emily.

"We stay put for now," declared Spencer in a murmur – everyone else nodded, because Spencer was good at this stuff, and if Spencer knew what to do, they'd follow. "We stay put – until we know what we're doing."

* * *

School had never gone so _slowly_. The hours turned into a millenium, and it was all up to A, and all its stupid, stupid, yet insanely clever tactics up its sleeve. School had gone so slowly that Aria was convinced the day would never come to an end – it was a Friday, on the other hand, and that was probably the only thing remotely close to an upside in _her_ life.

After the six long hours had _finally_ ended, Spencer called them over to her house again, just like the day before the carry on thinking about the current whereabouts of Dr Sullivan, and why she wasn't answering any of their messages or calls.

"I walked outside, and when I came back inside, it was here," said Spencer, as Hanna, Emily, and Aria entered the living room – Spencer pointed at the box placed in the middle of the floor, and the girls stared, stared, and stared.

"Here?" started Hanna. "Like in the middle of your kitchen, or here as in your porch and you brought it inside."

"I haven't touched it," answered Spencer.

Aria sighed, as she fingered a lock of her hair. "Guys, I never told you this, but... Dr Sullivan really helped me."

"Yeah – that was the reason why we actually trusted her," said Emily, nodding beside her. "She helped all of us."

"You don't think her ear's in here... right?" Hanna asked, in all seriousness.

"It's a bit big for an ear," said Aria, squinting at the box as if she could see right through it.

Spencer ignored both remarks, and proceeded slowly to open the box with her nimble fingers – the first thing her eye caught on was a large piece of card. The second thing her eye caught on was the writing _on_ the card.

 **You have until 7PM.**  
 **There are my demands.**

"What the hell does that mean?" stuttered Emily. Spencer took the lid of the crate off completely, and they all gasped as all their eyes caught on dolls. Unmistakably creepy dolls. There were four – each looking insanely like one another.

Aria was freaked out – the doll, the one right in the middle, it looked _exactly_ like her. As if it was made for her.

"I guess this is yours," Spencer passed her said doll. Aria examined it, desperately searching for an answer – she finally found it: a piece of string hanging loose on the side, one that she was able to pull.

" _Return these to Jason_ ," the doll said in a tiny, squeaky voice, that did not help the situation.

"Is there a creepier word than _creepy_?" mumbled Hanna.

"Wait... return _what_?" Aria looked more into the box, and pulled out a smaller box hidden in one of the corners – the box had three single letters scrawled across the lid in red marker pen – _N.A.T_. "What's this?"

"N.A.T," Spencer grabbed the small N.A.T box from Aria's grasp, and opened it, to reveal a few memory sticks placed inside. "N.A.T. It means _we see all_."

"Wait," Aria scoffed. "So you spied on Jason – _again_?"

Spencer ignored this: in this situation they were in, there was no time to feel bad. "The N.A.T Club was a club with three members in – Jason, Garrett, and Ian. Toby and I found this in one of his old yearbooks – _Ian's_ – and the club, it wasn't in the Rosewood High curriculum. It means 'we see all'. We looked it up."

Spencer brought her laptop up, and inserted a random memory stick into the small side hole, letting whatever was in their load onto it. She clicked on the video file when it came up, and they watched in anticipated silence.

"Oh my god," Aria exclaimed as they played through clip after clip. "They spied on _teenage girls_?"

"Ew," shivered Hanna.

Aria couldn't quite find the words to explain what she was currently feeling – yes, she was shocked, and yes, she was scared, but it was something beyond that. Once she'd 'returned these to Jason', she knew that he'd never be able to trust her again, because even if she wanted to, she _couldn't, couldn't, couldn't_ tell him about A. Trust was so hard to build up, and now it was going to be knocked down, before it even had a chance to stand in all its pride and glory.

"At least we'll get some answers," muttered Spencer under her breath.

"Really, Spencer? Is that _all_ you care about? Getting answers? Is that what it is – oh, wait, of course it is. I mean, stalking me, stalking him, _breaking into his shed_ – it's always been about answers. It's all only been about answers," Aria shook her head bitterly, and Spencer looked from her, to the other girls, who stayed as stiff and silent as ever. "Once I show these to him, he'll never be able to trust me again. You know, Spencer, he's never been able to trust _anybody_ – he's been too scared that... that _this_ , exactly this would happen."

"I'm sorry, I didn't–"

"Save it," Aria interrupted, and turned to Hanna, who then took out the blonde doll.

" _Stop the wedding_ ," it said in its creepy voice, and Hanna dropped it, letting it tumble down onto the floor. Even when it was lying dead it was creepy, with its hair all spread out as if it was getting buried, and the arms just waving about like a capsized ladybird.

Spencer sucked in a breath as she took out the last remaining doll – " _Keep Toby safe_."

Spencer's eyes widened like two saucers as realisation seemed to dawn on her. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed hysterically. "Toby was driving his truck this morning, when his brakes went out. That... that wasn't an accident – that was A." Spencer landed on the sofa, silently sobbing through her hands. Aria took the seat next to her, and rubbed her back gently.

"I didn't get one," Emily remarked.

"You've been A's target for weeks, Em," said Aria.

"Maybe A just got bored playing with you," added Hanna, nodding. "And I mean that as a good thing!"

"If A wants to shut me up, she... he... found a way to do it," Emily said bluntly. "I mean, we _finally_ tell someone the truth, and now Dr Sullivan's gone." Pause. "A can do that to anyone we care about, you know?"

"So we do things, and A gives her back? Is that what we're supposed to believe? I get this is a game, but I just _don't_ understand..." blurted out Spencer.

"Spencer–"

"No, it's brilliant, actually!" Spencer exclaimed, and she jumped up from the couch, her tears dry now. "A is being our ultimate 'frenemy', forcing us to get what we want, but knowing that when we do, all hell breaks loose."

"Believe me, I want to know what these are all about, but if I show these... We built up so much trust, you know. And it all crumbles down. Just like that," sighed Aria, and she ran her hands through her hair. "There's a reason why we can't go around telling the truth, 'cause it comes back to bite you. Hard."

"Okay," started Spencer, picking up the card, and holding it up. "It's currently three. We have four hours to obey our Chucky dolls." Then she stopped. "I saw A push Ian off that bell tower, and trust me, there was no hesitation."

"Spence, what are you saying?"

Aria spoke up, "She's saying it felt like it was easy for A to kill someone."

Spencer nodded, and in her smallest voice, added, "And I know only one way to keep Toby safe – and it's to keep him away from me."

* * *

 _This is your own fault_. She tried to ease her dread with a few words of wisdom, that didn't do any good, because at each 'reassurement', she was left more stuck in the mud than ever. _It's your own fault for telling the truth. And now, you have to pay_.

It was like what she said before – her and Jason, they'd come so far, and Aria was _positive_ that she loved him. They'd come so far, done so much, built up so much trust, and now, it was all going to disappear, into thin air, just like it never existed at all. Aria was the only person Jason ever trusted, and now he was going to have no one left.

It was four when she had finally plucked up the courage to even so much _knock_ on his door.

"Aria? Hey," Jason smiled, and let a shaking Aria in. If Aria hadn't been nervous, she would have commented on his new haircut, but right now, she _was_ freaking nervous. Out of her bloody mind.

"H-hi, Jason," stammered Aria, and her hands gripped onto the box tighter than ever before.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, an eyebrow propped up.

Aria shifted her feet uncomfortably, and averted her gaze from. "No."

"Okay," started Jason. "What's the problem?"

"I..." Aria started to say, except no words seemed to fit quite in. "I – I have to return these to you." She passed him the box as if it was a hot potato she wanted to throw; as if it was a damned blood spot she wanted out of her hide. "I'm sorry."

Jason took everything in, opening it up, letting realisation strike him, piece by piece. He looked up, a little hurt, a little betrayed, equally perplexed, and asked, "Where on earth did you get these?"

She was expecting this. _Accusatory_. "I'm – I'm sorry. I just needed to... know."

"Aria," Jason looked around them, as if there was someone watching. "Aria, tell me, where did you find these? Did someone give them to you? Did you... did _you_ find them?" She didn't answer. "Aria, answer me. Please. Who... who gave these to you?"

"I – I can't," Aria blinked back the tears fiercely – _I, Aria Montgomery, will not let weakness take ahold of me_.

"Don't you trust me?" asked Jason.

"I _do_ trust you!" Aria said. "I just... I just can't tell you."

"Is it real?" Jason asked, and still he looked away from her.

"What do you mean?"

"What we have? Or was it an act to get answers – a test?"

"No! Of course... not, Jason, no!" Aria tried to say, but it came out all _wrong wrong wrong_. "It was not an act, I swear. I just... Trust me, Jason, please, just trust me. I... no, this wasn't an act, I just... I just can't tell you. I'm s-sorry, Jason."

"No, I'm sorry," he interrupted, sighing.

"Wh-why?" asked Aria desperately. No. No. He wasn't... was he?

"I'm sorry I can't give you the answers you want," Jason sighed, in a voice pained, rather strained, and he turned his back on her. The silence was interrupted by the ringing of Aria's phone, in which she ignored in any attempt to get Jason to say something _real_. Jason pointed at her phone, and for the first time since she'd told him, his green eyes met her hazel ones, but then he turned away. "It's your phone, Aria. It might be something important."

Nodding, Aria answered it – " _The wedding!_ "

Aria hung up almost as soon as she could, and she stared up at the clock.

"Jason," Aria said. "Jason, can we carry this on–"

"There's no reason to," Jason said. "Goodbye, Aria."

* * *

She didn't seem to be able to cry, but the numbness had kicked in, and as she put on her pink dress, she felt the emptiness heave at her every fibre. She loved Jason – she loved him, she loved him, and she'd shout it out to the whole world if she was able to. She loved him, and now he was gone, and they were no more.

She almost pierced a new hole in her ear, and she cursed loudly, and yet _she did not cry_.

"Aria, sweetie?" Her mom. She opened the door and in came Ella, a huge smile on her face. "Hi, darling – you look beautiful." Ella stopped, and examined her daughtr carefully. "Okay, Aria. What's wrong?" Aria shook her head, and only pulled the ribbon around her waist tighter. "Aria, tell me. Something's definitely not okay."

"We broke up," Aria said. "Jason and I. We. Broke. Up."

Ella looked at her daughter, sincerity in her eyes. "This is a silly question, but are you okay?" Aria shook her head, but still she didn't cry, and she let herself be rocked back and forth by her mother. "What happened?"

"Lost trust," murmured Aria. "Not enough space for anything else."

"Do you love him?" The same question from the dinner party about a month before rang through her head – then, she didn't, because she'd barely known him. Why was it, that you only knew how much you loved someone as soon as you no longer had them?

"Yes," Aria admitted. "But now he's gone, and we'll never get back what we had." She paused. "I'd better go, Mom, or I'll be late for the wedding."

* * *

Aria wasn't late, like she thought she'd be – she didn't even cry. She was still numb, and felt like breaking apart, but she just didn't feel the tears, and she didn't know if they'd be coming.

She saw Spencer and sat beside her – on the contrary, Spencer seemed to have been crying a great deal, with eyes only just being able to be covered makeup.

"Hey," Aria smiled weakly.

"Toby and I broke up," she said quietly, and Aria saw her tear up again.

"I think we did, too," Aria said, but her tone was as deadpan and emotionless as ever, and she kept her gaze fixated in front of her, and only infront of her. The tears were still not coming, and a part of her was glad for that, but a part of her was confused to why they were not. Maybe it was because she still had that candle burning, low as it was, it was still burning.

They looked up, only to see Hanna trying to make desperate eye contact with her – her phone was by her side, in her hand, and so they could only presume she'd received the message.

Aria nodded at her, looked beside her to Spencer, and then realised that Emily was still absent. Aria got out her phone and silently dialled Emily's number, to which there was no reply.

Just as Isabel came near, Hanna interrupted the ceremony, right there, right then, with the officiating minister lost for words, one of many, many others. "Um, Isabel, can I have a quick word with you?"

Isabel narrowed her eyes on Hanna, but nodded, mouthing "Fine", and gesturing toward the rectory. Hanna followed Isabel, and then Aria and Spencer got up to follow _Hanna_ , because this, what they had to do, she'd need some backup. They entered the back room, and Isabel turned around, her hands on her hips.

Hanna took a deep breath. "When my dad came to Rosewood, he... he... he hooked up with my mom, and um... by 'hooked up', I mean... they slept together." Hanna's voice came to an abrupt stop as she saw her father enter, too, hearing each and every single word uttered.

A just _had_ to win, didn't they?

* * *

The wedding seemed to have been put on hold, and Hanna had pulled Aria and Spencer towards the place they had received navigations for – a lone barn of some sorts, on the outskirts of town.

Hopefully, this place... on Grover Road, was where they'd find the end of this fearful escapade – they'd find Dr Sullivan, and find Emily still at home, probably with some migraine, and momentarily, it would all be okay.

It wasn't Dr Sullivan in the barn – it was Emily. (Their migraine dream could go burn down, down, down.)

"Em! Emily! _Emily_ " They ran towards her, their voices raspy and croaky, calling out her name like it was all they had left (and it was) – they were getting sick and _fed up to pieces_ with this game. They reached her finally, and her eyes were all cloudy, and she still seemed dazed – in an airy voice, she murmured, "She's alive."

"Dr Sullivan?" asked Hanna.

"No, Alison, she's alive," Emily looked up at her, and then to the others, who only shook their heads.

"Look, guys!" Spencer pointed towards one side of the barn, where there was something wrapped up in polystyrene propped up against the brick red. On it displayed a note which was taped onto it, and on that note displayed some coordinates.

 **You'll need this.**  
 **40 24' N/75 17'8 W**

"Back at the wedding, I got a text from A," said Hanna, in a scared voice. "It said, _she's about to run out of air_."

"Did Aria bury Dr Sullivan alive?" asked Aria.

"Well, we're about to find out, aren't we?" remarked Spencer.

Spencer took the wrapped-up 'object', and undid the cover, revealing a shovel. She took it in her hands, and led the other girls, following the coordinates that they were given – they soon found themselves in some disclosed location in the middle of the woods with nothing in sight. "It says that it's here."

"Well, there's nothing here."

"Wait..." Emily mumbled, and squinted at one spot. "Over there! I can see something!"

Hanna's phone, it buzzed, and after this, she turned to the others, and then to the exact space where Emily was looking at. "Well, we'd better star digging."

They started to dig, desperately, because if Dr Sullivan really had been buried alive, then she could be dead in a matter of seconds. It was all in their own hands, if she would die or not.

"There's something down there!" breathed Spencer.

"Those are her boots!"

" _Keep digging_!"

"Dr Sullivan!"

It wasn't her. It was a mask.

The darkness was filled with random lights shining down on them – they looked up, and realised it was a helicopter.

"A set us up."

* * *

Aria wasn't sure how long they'd been in that damn observation room, but it had been hours, and she was sure of that. They had waited, and waited, and then Emily had come from her carbon monoxide poisoning test, and then they'd waited some more – and was, to this point, still waiting.

It was a while, but Aria was soon finally able to make a call.

And there was only one person to call; only person she really, really needed.

" _Please..._ " Her sobs echoed through the room, but she didn't care: the tears all built up and hidden were finally out now. " _Please... I made... I made a terrible mistake and I need you..."_ She heard his voice faintly from the other line, trying to soothe her down, and that – to know that he had picked up – had only made her cry more and more. "I'm sorry," she breathed out at the end, before being taken back into the observation room.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and rested herself down onto the cold, hard table.

She'd lost everything.

And now, she just needed to... _see... if... he'd... come_.

* * *

Jason walked into the station – after receiving that call, with a pounding heart, he'd run to the police department. He had finally arrived, and wondered where she was – he tried to call out her name, but before he could do anything along those lines, he'd bumped into _him_.

Peter Hastings – who, apparently, was his biological dad. The truth had all been uncovered the day before, and yet he was still half-clueless, because really, that was all Peter would get with the whole explaining.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he said sternly.

" _Don't_ ," Jason pressed on, as he tried to push past him. When he knew that his attempts were much to feeble, he gestured to the whole place. "I think my sister would want me here."

"Jason... look, this is n't just about me, all right? It's about you." Peter stopped, and sighed. "I did things to protect you that you don't even know about."

"My mother told me about the will, okay? And you didn't have to do that," Jason said.

"Jason, I have watched you grow up. I know you have been through so much... but this is... this is _my_ family we're talking about," Peter said. "I just don't want you to mess up what's already in a mess."

Jason laughed cynically. "Yeah, well, don't worry. I'm not here for your family." Jason saw Aria exit the observation room, and he saw her eyes light up at the sight of him.

"No, you're to stay away from her, too."

"You can't stop me."

"Actually, I can," stated Peter. "I know a lot, Jason,a lot of things about _you_ and your own family that you wouldn't want anyone to know."

"Are you _threatening_..."

"I'm warning you, Jason. You need to stay away from _my_ family, and her, and _hers_ , too."

Jason scoffed, and shook his head. "I can't believe you."

"I'm just doing what's best."

Jason shook his head over and over again – there were many, many things Jason weren't proud of. And was his _own biological father_ blackmailing him? He looked from Aria, then to Peter, then back to Aria again.

And then, he left.

* * *

 **This one's rather all over the place, but I hope you still liked it!**


	10. Hard to Forget

**A/N - Okay so I have had major Writer's Block and actually deleted a couple of stories! Sorry about that. Anyway, this is the only story that I could possible write but even then it's pretty crappy. I hope you enjoy though :)**

 **Sorry if Peter is a little OOC, but who cares anyway? Everyone hates him lol.**

* * *

Chapter Ten  
Giving Up

 _/I'm giving up on love_  
 _'Cos I've been hurt before\_

* * *

After he bail had been paid and they were all back at home, Aria couldn't help but feel so empty inside. He had come, then he had left. She didn't mean anything to him, at least, not anymore. But she missed him, god, she missed him so bloody much.

She had told her mother about her official break-up with Jason, how she wasn't sure what happened. Her mom had been understanding, but it didn't mean it made anything better.

Jason was thinking about her too. True, he _had_ felt used when Aria gave him back the box of N.A.T memory sticks, but that didn't change the fact that Jason loved her. What made him sad was that he was never able to tell her that. But whatever happened, Jason had forgiven her because he loved her. Maybe he could get her back, if he tried, but with _Peter_ in the way of things, he wasn't quite sure how it was possible. Peter didn't want Jason to mess up an already messed-up family - yes, Jason was nothing but a _mistake_ , and he shouldn't be alive.

Jason got out his phone and his instincts got the better of him. He didn't care about Peter, or what he's been planning to do, after all, Peter knew nothing about him and was probably just bluffing when he said he'd tell everyone his deepest darkest secrets.

 **Aria, can we meet somewhere? The Brew? Please, I just need to see you.  
\- Jason**

Jason sighed loudly as he picked up his jacket and walked to the front door. Obviously he was just bluffing, Jason thought. But all of those thoughts vanished when he bumped into _him_. Peter Hastings.

'I thought I told you to stay away from her.'

'What?' Jason stammered. How the hell did Peter know? Peter grabbed Jason's phone and smashed it on the ground. 'Hey, what the hell?'

'Jason, I need you to stay away from my family.' Peter said sternly. 'And stay away from Aria.'

'Aria has nothing to do with your family - your family that _you_ screwed up, not me.' Jason sighed. 'Just get out of my way.

'Jason, please.' Peter said. 'Stop, Jason, there is no reason for you to see Aria. You don't need her to mess my family up.'

'So you think I only want to see Aria so I can screw up your already screwed up family which _you_ screwed up, although you manage to blame _me_?' Jason scoffed. 'Oh, I wish. But no, I _love_ her.'

Peter stood for a second, silent. 'Jason, don't make me do this.'

'Do what?'

'I do know everything about you, Jason, a lot of things that even you may not know.' Peter paused. 'And if you don't want anyone else to know...'

'You're _blackmailing_ me?'

'I can't let Spencer or Melissa know.'

'And I swear I won't tell them! Look, I need to go.'

'I told you to _stop!_ ' Peter said, giving Jason a little shove.

'Let go of me!'

'Your father doesn't know. I could let it slip.'

'So _you're_ trying tell him about _you're_ mistake?'

'No.' Peter then smirked. 'You are.'

Kenneth never loved Jason at least, it never seemed like it. He'd push him away like he was the outcast of the family - and in the end, he was. His mother already hated him. Did it really matter if he made another enemy?

'He hates me already. It wouldn't make any difference.'

Peter opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

'Just move.'

Peter just stood there for an hour, fighting back. Every thing he said, Jason let fly past his head. He didn't care - he just needed to see Aria. He just needed to tell her that he had forgiven her and that he trusted her and that he wasn't going to give up on them.

Finally, Peter had given up and left. Jason picked up his phone. It wasn't too damaged. Then he made sure the message had been read. He arrived at he Brew moments later. He waited. He waited a long time. He had waited so long he decided to call Aria.

 _The person you have called is not available, please try again._

And he did. Many times. Yet all went straight to voicemail.

He had been too late. Aria had given up on them.

* * *

Aria had gone to the Brew almost immediately.

 _Maybe he still has hope._

She hoped so. She wasn't ready to let go of Jason, not just yet. She found their usual place and sat there for a couple of hours, just waiting to see him rounding the corner and smile at her.

He hadn't come.

Maybe he had something urgent to do, she thought. Suddenly she was reminded of the last time she had seen Jason before moving to Iceland.

 _Aria sighed as she walked down Spencer's road. She was leaving for Iceland in a couple of days and she wanted to say goodbye. She was so caught up in all the Alison drama she had even forgotten Spencer lived right next to her. Lived. Now Alison was...gone._

 _She decided to walk past the DiLaurentis house one last time as well. Alison may have been a terrible friend but...she was still her friend and Aria loved her as a friend. She stood outside the DiLaurentis house for several minutes, thinking about the countless times she had hung out with Ali on the porch, dressing up and doing each other's makeup..._

 _'Are you just going to stand there for the next couple of hours?'_

 _Aria squinted and saw Jason sitting on the porch._

 _'Hi.' Aria smiled weakly. 'I haven't seen you in a while.'_

 _'Yeah.' Jason sighed._

 _'Are you okay?' Aria started but then realised how tactless she was. 'Wait, no, I'm stupid, don't answer that.'_

 _'No, don't worry.' Jason said. 'I'm doing okay.'_

 _'I'm so sorry.'_

 _'Yeah. Me too.' Jason mumbled. He looked down. 'How are you doing? And the others?'_

 _Aria decided not to bring up her moving to Iceland. 'I think we're doing alright. I miss her. It's been hard...on all of us.'_

 _'Yeah. We all miss her. She's quite hard to forget, isn't she?' Jason smiled weakly._

 _'How are your parents?'_

 _'My parents? Well, Mom's been hysterical - very hysterical - and Dad...haven't seen him for a while.' Jason played with his fingers. But she's only missing. We'll find her.'_

 _'Yeah.' Aria said. She turned her head and looked at him. 'I really am sorry.'_

 _Jason turned to face her too. 'Thank you.'_

Was he here yet? Aria looked up. No one.

The text from Jason asking to meet was sent at exactly 2:28. Now it was 5:08.

He'd given up.

In the end, she decided to delete his number and try to forget about him. After all, he really had given up, hadn't he?

* * *

 **A/N - So they both think they have given up...**

 **Do the flashbacks make the plot interesting? Should I do more?**


	11. Vivian Darkbloom

**A/N - Not much Jaria in this but I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter Eleven  
I Miss You

 _/_ _I want you back_ _  
_ _But you can't come back_ _\_

* * *

Giving up was the easy part. Forgetting was the hard part. It was like everything she said and saw just lead back to Jason. Like a circle. Aria badly missed him, even more than before he had texted her. Yes, Aria was hurt but she knew that it was her fault, for hurting Jason first. Of course Aria didn't want to, but there was A in the middle of this mess.

 **Still feeling bitter? Oh, poor little girl.  
** **Just make sure not to end up passed out on your porch 'cause you better not expect Prince Charming to save you.  
** **-A**

What the hell did that mean?

 _Oh._

It was maybe the third or fourth time Aria had talked to Jason. He had been drunk of his ass and dumped on his front porch and Aria had taken him inside.

 _Aria was absolutely freezing in her shorts and tank top. Especially when it was forty-something degrees. She looked up and saw Alison waving at her from her bedroom window. Aria merely rolled her eyes as she picked up Ali's back which she "accidentally" dropped._

 _She walked slowly to the porch, her teeth clattering._

 _'What the hell?!'_

 _Aria jumped back when she saw a guy passed out on the porch, face down._

 _'Jason?!' Aria bent down to see if he was awake. 'Jason. Jason? Wake up!' When he didn't move, Aria sighed. 'Jason? Oh my god, Jason?' Aria shook his shoulders gently. 'Jason.' She shook harder and he finally opened one eye._

 _'Aria?'_

 _'What are you doing?' Aria pulled him up and he leaned on the wall for stability. 'Were you drunk?'_

 _'I...I don't remember.'_

 _Aria sighed loudly, looking him in the eye. She noticed a dark bruise on his forehead. 'Jason, your forehead…'_

 _Jason touched it before wincing. 'How in the world did I get this?'_

 _'Hey, don't.' Aria said, bringing his hand back down. 'Are you okay?'_

 _'I think so.' Jason mumbled._

 _Aria pulled his arm and brought him inside. It was then when she realised his neck was also bleeding. She sat him down and carefully dabbed at his neck._

 _'Thank you, Pink Hair.' Jason said. Aria blushed as he reached his hand out and felt her pink streak._

 _'It's really okay.'_

 _Jason leaned forehead and kissed her cheek. 'See you.'_

Aria laughed at the memory. Back then, if anyone had told her that in only a year and a bit, she would be dating him, she'd think they were insane. No, _dated_ him.

Aria sighed. I miss you, she thought, I miss you so much.

'Aria?'

The door opened and in came Ella.

'Hey Mom.' Aria mumbled. 'What's up?'

Ella looked down at Aria's bright pink tank top and pyjama pants (which had ducks on them) and paused. 'Just wear something nice and come downstairs.'

'Okay…' Aria muttered. She then looked down at her pants. 'Hey, these are nice!'

'Like a dress or something.' Ella smiled.

Aria shrugged and fished her wardrobe for anything that looked "nice". In the end, she just threw on a black flowy dress and went downstairs.

'So what's up?' Aria asked as she walked down the stairs. Ella looked up and smiled.

'So Aria, do you remember Holden Strauss?'

Aria widened her eyes. 'Holden!? Yeah, of course I remember.' She jumped down the two remaining stairs. 'Why?'

Ella smiled and gestured to her right. Holden had been Aria's childhood friend, and here he was, sitting at their kitchen table.

'Holden!' Aria smiled as she hugged him. 'It's been a really long time.'

'Yeah.' Holden said. 'It really has.'

* * *

'Hey, are you okay?'

Aria looked up and shrugged. It was probably their fourth meet-up and it reminded her too much of Jason.

'Is it...him?' Holden started. 'Your mom said something about a break-up.'

Aria shook her head. 'It's nothing.'

'Okay.' Holden nodded slowly. They were silent for a little bit until the door of the Brew opened and in came someone - someone Aria knew too well.

Jason waited at the counter, after picking up a muffin. He looked around and his eyes stopped at Aria. Aria had seen him too and stared into his green eyes. She then snapped out of it and turned back to Holden.

'Is that him?' Holden whispered.

Aria took a breath before shaking her head. 'I don't know what you're talking about.' Aria stood up. 'You know...I'm going to head out.' She looked down at her feet, trying not to look at Jason.

Holden stood up next to her. 'Actually...can I ask you something? Outside?'

'Sure...' Aria walked out first. 'What is it?'

'I...need your help.'

'For...what?'

'I...' Holden lowered his voice. 'Recently, I started martial arts. And...I was asking if you could cover for me.'

Aria thought for a second. 'Why can't you tell your parents?'

'It's...it's complicated. So...what do you think? You can even visit me sometime.' Holden played with his fingers.

'Well...sure, I guess.' Aria smiled. 'So when is this martial arts thing?'

'Actually, I'm kind of late.' Holden said sheepishly. 'You don't have to come with me.' He said as Aria turned to follow him.

'I want to. It'd be something to kill time.' Aria smiled.

Aria had been following and covering for Holden for maybe several weeks now. It wasn't boring as hell like she thought it would've been but then again, it wasn't exactly _fun_ seeing him almost kill a guy. Aria had to admit, Holden was fun to be around and was a great friend but...there was no way she was going to move on with him. Not when she was still sore with Jason. Her mom asked her many times about her interest in Holden. Holden was nice but just as a friend. Not a boyfriend.

'He's single. You're single. What's the problem?' Her mom asked as she was talking with Aria on her bed.

'Mom, Holden's _nice_ and all, but I really don't want to, you know, _be_ with him.' Aria said. 'Not when...'

Aria's new single life was going great...well, sort of. A seemed to stop sending them messages 24/7, now with both Toby and Jason out of the picture. And talking of pictures, Hanna was in deep trouble, and it may or may not have been A's fault. Hanna's wicked stepsister had been humiliated in front of the whole school because of one picture...revealing a lot of herself. And all of those pictures had come from Hanna's phone. It wasn't Hanna's fault, she wouldn't have done that, no matter how much she loathed the new beauty queen.

'If this is A...?' Hanna mumbled as she walked with the girls through the hallway. 'God...'

'Maybe it wasn't A. I mean, why would A want to do anything to help Kate?' Aria said. She opened her locker and saw a poster pinned on it. 'What on earth?'

'Truth Up Day.' Spencer said from beside her. 'Well, doesn't this look exciting.'

'Seeing as we're so used to lying.' sighed Emily. 'I wonder how this will go.'

* * *

'What...is that?' Emily pointed at the red coat on Spencer's kitchen table.

'I picked it up using "Vivian's" claim ticket.' Spencer said. Emily suddenly remembered finding Alison's fake ID as "Vivian Darkbloom" and how they found the claim ticket.

'Well, um...can I touch it?' Aria asked.

'Yeah, it's a rain coat, Aria, not a mummy.' Spencer laughed.

Aria rolled her eyes and fished the pockets for anything. She picked up a tiny crumpled piece of paper with a few numbers scrawled on it which Aria could only just make out as a phone number.

'Guys...I think we should call it.' Aria said. 'It might give us some clues.'

'I don't...' Emily hesitated, not picking up her phone.

'What, are you scared?' Spencer said.

'No!' Emily insisted. Emily slowly picked up her phone and dialled the number. When it went to voicemail, she hesitated again. 'I...um...well...'

Aria sighed and snatched the phone of Emily. 'Um, hi? This is...um...one of Vivian's friend. When you get this, can you call me back? Thank you.'

They all looked at each other and smiled. One step closer to bringing down A and who murdered Alison.

'Well, that wasn't too bad.' Aria said as they walked down the school corridor.

'Yeah, all we need to do is endure about twelve hours of telling the truth. Something, as you can see, we are very good at.' Emily sighed, kicking at the ground.

'Em,are you okay?' Spencer asked.

'Tamborelli isn't letting me back on the team because he doesn't want me to _tarnish the team's image_ as he has a major sponsor on the hook.' Emily sighed loudly.

'What?!' Both Aria and Spencer said loudly, outraged.

'How long do we have to pay for picking up a stupid shovel?' Emily groaned.

'Look on the bright side, we've got the rain coat, and we'll soon have some answers.' Aria smiled weakly, holding Emily's hand.

'I hope so.' was all Emily said.

* * *

 **A/N - Sorry for the very rushed chapter. I will try and update later on today :)**

 **So a question to any writers: is anyone's traffic graph and views acting strange? I mean, I can't see how many views I'm getting.**


	12. The Truth About This Love

**As you guys all probably know... this chapter is Truth Up Day AU! So while writing this fanfic, this was one of the chapters I was looking forward to write! Also, you may see a slight change in the writing – the first part was like a month ago and the second part is today.**

* * *

 **the truth about this love**

* * *

 _i'm standing where the lightning strikes  
i know this doesn't happen twice  
you must be my once in a lifetime  
 **— landon austin**_ _  
_

* * *

Jason ambled through the school halls, clutching onto some yellow files, while doing his best to keep his head down and _not_ search the crowds of students for Aria, even if every once in a while he… _accidentally_ looked her direction. If he told himself he was completely over her, that would be one blatant lie, because he wasn't, and if he admitted, he wouldn't be for a long time.

He had left town the day after they broke up, not in a very good state as a) he and Aria were no more and b) he had found out that Peter Hastings was his biological father. On Peter's demands, he had kept his mouth shut, but he knew that once the word was out, both of their families were going to blow up.

Peter had been ignoring him for a while, and Jason had one question he was burning to ask him.

While he was away, Jason had found something.

Before his mind could go onto _that_ thought, he caught sight of a familiar looking brunette who seemed to be staring intently with disgust at Noel Kahn and the blind girl, Jenna Marshall, on the bench, in a rather compromising position. At least, for being in the school ground.

"Spencer?" he said cautiously, in case it was some random other girl.

Spencer turned around to see Jason and gritted her teeth. "Um, hey. Jason."

Jason nibbled on his lip. He knew two things – firstly, Spencer was his _sister_. It felt strange talking to her face-to-face, when they were _related_. He didn't really know how to talk to her when he knew they shared blood.

And secondly, well, while he was still dating Aria, Spencer's passion for hating Jason wasn't exactly hidden, so he kept in mind to be wary when talking to her.

"What are you doing here?" asked Spencer.

Jason shrugged, looking down at his filed. "Just had to drop off some old forms – kids that I counseled after school."

"Were you out of town?"

"Yeah, yeah. Georgia," he nodded. "We're still trying to fix up my grandmother's house. It needs a little work." Jason paused, knowing this was his opportunity to finally talk to her father. "Hey, can you, um, do me a favour?"

Reluctantly, she nodded, and curiously, she asked, "Um, what do you need?"

"Give your father a message for me. Tell him he owed me a call." And he did. In actual fact, Peter owed him a lot – twenty years worth.

"Why?"

"Just give him the message," he said a little firmer. "I'm back, and he can't keep dodging me." Spencer was still eyeing Jason suspiciously, and uncomfortable and uneasy, Jason cast his eyes down, clutching onto the files even tighter than before.

"Jason!"

He turned around and saw Ella Montgomery trying to get his attention. She saw Spencer and Jason together and slowed down a little bit.

"Hey, Jason… I'm sorry to interrupt…"

"That's okay," Jason smiled, and let himself take a quick glance at Spencer. "We were done. Um, how are you doing, Ella?"

Ella groaned. "Frazzled. I volunteered to recruit supervisors for tonight's event, and I am still short on staff. You're not, by any chance, free, are you?"

Tonight's event… Realisation dawned on him – he'd seen the posters plastered around the school: _Truth Up Day_. He had no idea if he wanted to help – telling the truth to hundreds of teenagers didn't really sound appealing.

"I don't think so."

"Well, it was worth a try," Ella sighed, turning around to Spencer. " _Please_ tell me your parents are still on board, because I need bodies."

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure…" Alarmingly, Jason looked up. If Spencer's parents were going to be at this… Truth Up Day, then he would have a likelier chance at talking to Peter, because Jason was more than certain he wouldn't listen to his daughter, because Jason was more than certain Spencer was only going to bring up questions, and completely abandon his initial question – although if he was being honest, he would have done that too.

He cut in, "What's the event… Truth Up Day? Maybe I can be there."

"Really?" Ella exclaimed.

"Well, yeah," Jason grinned. "I mean, you know, if you're desperate enough to ask me, then sure… count me in!" He turned and gave Spencer a smirk, which she returned with a faker-than-fake smile.

"Great!" Ella said.

Jason saw Spencer excuse herself quietly, moving to sit at the table closest to them. Jason wasn't stupid – she wasn't really concentrated in the straw of her milk carton; she was way more concentrated on listening out for anything he said.

"So, um… how's Aria doing?" Jason said, lowering his voice. He hadn't seen her since his brief return, when he saw her with this other guy at the Brew. Just the sight of her and… _him_ … had driven him crazy, and whatever, he was sounding like a jealous jerk, but he wanted to wring that guy's neck at the time.

Ella frowned. "Jason, she misses you. Whatever happened between the two-"

"Tell her I said hi," Jason mumbled, and he left her in the middle of the courtyard

Ella sighed deeply, before she too walked off, her brain clogged up with thoughts about her daughter, her ex-boyfriend, and the dreaded recruiting she had signed up for.

* * *

"Hey, what's up?"

Holden's voice gave Aria a surprise and she jumped from her seat, her mouth in an 'O' shape. She placed a hand over her chest and started laughing – whatever was up with her, she really didn't know, but she'd been having strange mood shifts. She'd spent the whole of last night sobbing over her terrible relationship and said relationship's endings, re-watching _Bridget Jones' Diary_ with two full tubs of tiramisu. And only the morning had she been nibbling on every inch of her skin, worrying to death about Holden and his martial arts, and now potential _drug_ - _dealing_.

"Nothing," Aria mumbled. "You, er, just scared me."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "You know, it must be weird to have your mom here, hey? If she patrols the halls at school and at home… I kind of understand-"

"Hey!" she said playfully. They'd usually done this, insult each other, but for some reason, she really wasn't in the mood.

"What happened to your voice?" Holden propped up an eyebrow. "Does this have something to do with what fell out of her bag yesterday?"

Aria shook her head vehemently, although inside, she was screaming, _YES! It's got everything to do with it because now I don't know if I should be scared of you, too_.

Unfortunately, Aria had never been an amazing liar, and Holden caught up quickly, stepping down from the small ladder. "Aria…"

"Holden," she said solemnly. "Holden, if you are hooked on something, or if you're dealing-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Holden said, throwing his hands up. "You're kidding, right?"

"No," urged Aria. "Holden, that bag wasn't filled with _Flintstones vitamins_. I'm not stupid."

"No, but you're way off," Holden said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'll see you later, 'Ria."

* * *

The rest of the day droned on and on until Aria literally dissolved from existence. It wasn't like she was _looking forward_ to Truth Up Day (no, god, she was _dreading_ it), she was just… worried. Paranoid. _Scared_. Who knew what A had up his… her… sleeve?

Aria looked down at the small rectangular card the teacher had given her. _Group 3_ – hopefully no uninvited guests would turn up. She crossed her fingers, hoping that she knew at least one person she was going to be spilling the truth with.

She almost screamed in relief when she saw Caleb in one of the seats, and she almost skipped to the empty seat next to him.

"I'm guessing you're also glad that there's someone you _know_ in this room," laughed Caleb as he saw Aria's expression. "Hey, did you know _she_ was going to be in this group?"

Aria's face fell as she followed Caleb's gaze – right towards Jenna. "No. If I did, I would have given myself a fever this morning."

"Same, if only I had known _Jenna No-eyes_ would be with us," Caleb spat, throwing a dirty look towards Jenna, who seemed to realize them. She turned around to look at Caleb and Aria, who, although they knew that Jenna couldn't really see them, felt very uncomfortable.

"Hanna's stuck with my mom. And Emily's with Hanna's… And Spencer's with that old Geography teacher…" Aria read the messages from her friend aloud, although Caleb was too busy shooting daggers at Jenna. "I wonder who our-"

To answer her question, just then, the door bust open and Veronica Hastings walked in, and trailing behind him was… oh god…

Jason.

 _Damn it, damn it, damn it_ …

Caleb, from beside her, nudged her. "At least your boyfriend's here," he laughed weakly.

"Ex-boyfriend," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Oh. Not so good," Caleb looked away quickly.

She carried on staring into his eyes as he stopped to look back. Not a millisecond later he had started to walk on again, hands deep in his pockets – Aria swore she could literally hear her heart break. He really did hate her, didn't he?

"I can't do this," Aria leapt up to her feet, only to be pulled down by Caleb.

"I don't think you have a choice," Caleb said. "Your boyfriend – ex-boyfriend-"

The buzz of Aria's phone interrupted him and her thoughts, and she picked it up to read the message.

 **Oh, what is little Aria going to do so near to Heartbreak Boy?** **  
** **-A**

Aria winced at those very words. She remembered months and months ago, when A had sent her a similar text. She took a deep breath before drawing her attention back to Mrs Hastings and Jason. But she let the words fly past her head as she did nothing but stare at Jason – she was actually surprised his shirt hadn't burned through.

(And if she dared say – he sure looked gorgeous in that very shirt.)

"Are you okay?" Caleb asked.

Aria didn't answer, instead looked straight down at her feet. If she said she was, she'd be lying, and she'd done enough of that for a lifetime.

Although time went so slowly, soon the first part was over and it was break time.

"It looks like he wants to talk..." Caleb saw Jason looking at Aria rather attentively but Aria shrugged it off.

"I'm fine," Aria then stormed out of the room, bashing into several people, including Jenna, although really, she couldn't care less.

* * *

"Okay, everyone, break's over!" Mrs Hastings re-entered the room, surprisingly without being followed by Jason. As Aria readjusted herself on the seat, she watched as Veronica moved the interactive board on the other side of the classroom. She pulled out a few pieces of chalk and turned back to the children in the group. "Feel free to write down anything you want – it's anonymous." Veronica straightened herself, looking towards Jenna. "Jenna, if you need help, I can-"

"No, thank you. I'll pass," Jenna murmured.

"Jenna, I'm sorry, but that's not really an option," Veronica looked back out the door. "If you'd prefer Jason, he'll be back in a few minutes with flashlights, or if there's someone else you trust…"

"I don't trust anyone here," Jenna stated, unmoving.

"Okay…" Mrs Hastings started, unsure on how to respond. "Well, keep in mind that this day is about opening up to new possibilities, and you'll be expected to-"

"To what?" she interrupted. "To forgive all the classmates who've mistreated me? I'm not big on group hugs, Mrs Hastings. I don't need a special flashlight to know what people around here are hiding – this school's filled with phonies and liars. They're everywhere."

There was something about Jenna's words which chilled Aria – something that crept up towards her, screaming _A_.

"In what way have you been mistreated?" Veronica asked.

"Oh, should I start with the day I was cornered in the girls' bathroom and smacked?" Jenna readjusted her glasses for what was the tenth time, and regained her posture.

"Is she talking about Hanna?" Caleb whispered in Aria's ear. Aria merely shrugged and looked straight at the blind girl.

"Did you ever report this?" started Veronica, before she was cut off by a very indignant Caleb.

"Well, she couldn't," he said. "Because if she had, she would have to admit that she threw the first punch. Isn't that right, Jenna? So, just to clarify, we are telling the whole truth today, right? Not just the part we _want_ to remember." he paused. "By the way, this is _Caleb_ speaking, in case you were confused."

* * *

" _Aria_ , Caleb was in your group," Hanna said as soon as she caught sight of her tiny brunette friend. "wasn't he?"

"Yes…" Aria replied somewhat reluctantly. "But why…?"

"Spencer's currently MIA, Emily's had it in with Tamborelli, and _you_ were the last person to see him…" Hanna stopped to tiptoe and look out the window, before sighing and clicking her tongue. "I really need to know where he is – I saw him briefly – well, I heard him briefly, talking about Jenna – and… well, I'm scared he's going to go hunt down-"

"Jenna?" Aria threw in. "He seemed rather… harsh towards her when we were talking."

Before Aria or Hanna could both say another word, Hanna had run off, leaving Aria frazzled and not in the right mind aware of whatever the hell was going on. She wondered if she should look for Caleb, but she was pretty sure Hanna had taken off in sight of him. Instead, she wondered back in a zig-zag back to the canteen, where snacks and drinks were being served.

"Have you seen Caleb?" Emily shook Aria's shoulders when she saw her round the corner.

"Um… I think he's gone to… hunt down… Jenna?" Aria murmured, asking herself rather than answering.

"He went after her? What did Jenna do?" Emily exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Spencer walked over to the two, looking at them attentively. "Where's Hanna? And Caleb? And the phone…"

"We think Caleb's gone to hunt down Jenna!" Emily said.

"Caleb thinks he knows who he's dealing with, and if Hanna was worried about him before…"

Aria was cut off by Spencer's cry of, "Where's Hanna?"

"I… don't know," Aria said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I saw her about two minutes ago, and she was all frantic about Caleb, but she bolted almost as soon as we bumped into each other. I'm as confused as all of you."

"No one called back," Emily said, filling in the short silence. "The number… the number from Ali's coat."

"Damn it, I knew we should have said we were Vivian, not just her friend. Of course whoever lent her that coat in the first place wasn't going to answer," Spencer sighed. "Then the message would have been returned." she paused. "Call back. Say you're Vivian."

"Well, _I_ can't do it – he knows my voice," Aria but in. She turned and pointed at Emily. "You do it."

" _Me_?!" Emily exclaimed, shaking her head fervently. "I don't even know what a Vivian sounds like."

"A lot like an Alison," noted Spencer.

Aria rolled her eyes, and took the phone. "I'll do it," She dialled the recent number they had dialled and placed it by her ear, although she was already triple sure that whoever was on the other side _wasn't_ going to pick up.

"Hello?" a husky voice spoke.

Alarmed, she quickly replied a, "Hello?" back, and widened her eyes at her friends. "Uh hi. Um, I – I left a message yesterday. Here. I'm… I'm a friend of Vivian's."

"Yeah," the voice replied, and Aria was still unsure whether it was a male or female voice. "Who gave you this number? No one here knows anyone named Vivian. Don't call here again." And abruptly, the person hung up, leaving all three of them rather dumbfounded.

"Well," coughed Spencer. "she definitely got our message."

"Or she's just tired of a stranger clogging up her voice mail."

"Or maybe it is just what it is – a number in a pocket," Emily finished.

Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't – in an A world, really, anything was possible.

" _Attention, please_ ," Everyone turned to the speakers on the ceiling. " _Will Emily Fields please report immediately to the vice principal's office?_ "

Spencer and Aria turned to look at Emily, who merely shrugged, heading towards the office while adding, "A long story."

* * *

"I can't believe she sent it out herself," Hanna said to herself over and over again. "It's just… it's just _sick_ , and _psychotic_ , and… eugh… _gross_." The picture send-out had been explained, and finally both the stupid principal and even stupider Mother Randall knew that Kate was the one who snapped a naked photo herself, minus her birthmark, and sent it out.

"I know," Aria agreed. "I'm scarred."

"It's genius," Spencer mumbled. "The first week of school, she takes down Hanna and makes every girl pity her, and makes every guy want to pounce on her-"

"Okay, not every guy," Hanna said. "Caleb wants to strangle her. _Damn it_! I still don't know where he is!" Quickly, she looked towards Aria. "You need to tell him to stop."

"Stop him from what?" Aria stuttered.

"From trying to crack my phone! He still thinks Jenna did it, and you have to tell him to quit."

"But why me?" Aria asked.

"Because you two were in the same group! Check… check the music room…" Hanna urged.

"What if-"

Reading her mind, she interrupted, "Then check the rooftop! Look, I know I'm acting paranoid, but I don't want Jenna sniffing out what he's doing. She's got eyes everywhere – no, shut up, Spencer. Spencer will look down here, I need to find my mom, and you – now _go_." Hanna sprinted off for the second time that evening, and after a quick, sympathetic look, Spencer did the same.

"Caleb!" Aria exclaimed, after staying dead still in her spot. "Caleb, where are you? For God's sake, I don't have the freaking time to go hunt you down like some freaking boar or something." Aria said, gritting her teeth.

The music room was only a few doors down, and so she made her way down that corridor, and bust in through the door, expecting Caleb to be in the corner somewhere, typing away furiously at his laptop, trying to decode what he thought was Jenna's handiwork.

"Veronica?"

Aria stopped short, and her face fell. "You're not Caleb..."

"A-Aria," Jason stammered as he saw who exactly had burst in. "Um, hi."

"H-hey," Aria played with the tips of her fingers. Looking at her and Jason now, no one would have even remotely suggested they had been together. In fact, they probably wouldn't even think them as friends, let alone relationship-worthy. They were strangers to each other, and they both knew they hated it. "Um, have you seen Caleb anywhere?"

"No... sorry..." Jason stammered. "Have you seen Veron – Mrs Hastings anywhere?"

Aria looked at him thoughtfully. He looked even better than before, his hair shorter, his eyes brighter, and as she observed before – shirt tighter. She then blushed.

"Yeah... she was with my mom back in the cafeteria. I… I think…" Aria smiled weakly as Jason nodded at her and made for the door. When he was only a couple of metres from the exit, Aria blurted out, "Do you hate me?"

Rather taken aback, Jason replied, "Hate you?"

Aria's heart skipped a beat, and slowly started to explain. "Yeah, because you've been ignoring me, I mean, I know we broke up, of course I do, but you sent me a text to meet at the Brew and I waited for hours and hours and hours and you never came so I figured out that you wanted zero contact with me so I reckoned... Okay, I'm exaggerating – I didn't wait for hours and hours and hours, and I mean, of course, you have every right to be mad at me, you have every right to hate the living guts out of me; I deserve it. If someone had given me something from _my_ childhood – teenagehood – adulthood – which I probably never wanted found, especially by someone I _trusted_ , like, really, really trusted – I would also be feeling bitter. It's just that the thought of you walking round and _hating_ -"

She had no time to say anymore because Jason had planted a kiss on her lips, softly and chastely. Aria relaxed and immediately melted back in his arms, breathing in his sweet cologne and pulling him closer to her. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead on hers.

"I could never hate you," he whispered.

"But..."

"But what? I could never hate you because..." Jason closed his eyes for a millisecond. "I knew that it was never going to be easy, us being together. There were so many things getting in the way – especially with the past and everything with Alison and your friends not being able to trust me but... after everything, _with_ everything… I realised..." he hesitated. "I love you, Aria."

Aria widened her eyes. He hadn't hated her – he'd... for some bizarre reason that she'd probably never understand, he'd _loved_ her.

"How can you say that when I've been hiding stuff from you? How could you say that when I lied, and broke your trust?"

"Because in the end, Aria," he started. "in the end, I love you. I don't care whatever hell we've been through, it's just the fact of loving you is all that matters."

Aria wasn't sure what to say. She had known she'd loved him for ages, and she'd expected saying it to him, dreamed of it, also. But now, it just felt so unreal – he couldn't possible love her, could he? Maybe it was some sick, twisted joke? She couldn't risk it.

"I love you, too."

It was already out. No turning back now. Jason gave her a ghost of a smile, unsure if she was serious or not.

"But why did you give me a text and never-" Aria started.

"Am I interrupting something?" An amused Veronica stood by the entrance, one eyebrow raised.

"Nope," Aria said before running away, without a second glance at Jason – the talking – they'd save that for later, because for now she had to search for Caleb, and make sure he hadn't gone too far with his goal. And even if Jason's voice was echoing, _I love you, I love you, I love you_ , she needed to find him as soon as possible.

Aria walked out onto the roof, following Hanna's suggestion, hoping that Caleb would be hidden somewhere with his laptop.

"Caleb?"

But a few metres on the top, she heard a door shut loudly.

"Oh my god!" Aria ran back and rattled on the doorknob, which opened to no avail. "Someone help me!" She looked around frantically and when she spotted a ladder she sprung to it, breathing heavily. But as soon as she climbed on, someone had got hold of her ankle and was already pulling her down to the ground. "Help me! Get off me! What the... Noel?"

"Get off her!"

Aria wasn't sure what she saw next. A small guy with crazy curly hair had tackled Noel to the ground and he lay there, his lip bleeding.

"What the fuck, man? I wasn't even attacking her!" Noel growled, trying to regain stability.

Aria widened her eyes as she finally saw who had saved her. "H-Holden?"

"Aria, are you okay?" he asked, breathing shallow, hands shaky.

"Holden!" Aria quickly stood up and brushed off any dirt on her clothes.

"Aria, listen to me. Are you okay?" Holden asked, a little louder and sterner this time. He took hold of her hands and made her look straight into his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Aria shrugged. "L-let's go back inside. Everyone's probably looking for us."

"Right," Holden said quietly, nodding. In an awkward silence, they made their way back to the main entrance, both equally confused – why Holden had saved her, and why Aria was on the rooftop, getting manhandled in the first place.

The exchanged a quick and again, awkward goodbye and thank you, before Aria moved on, although rather jolted, her search for Caleb. She exited the school, this time going onto the other side, onto the courtyard, where her eye caught on two familiar faces. She walked a little closer, and realized that one belonged to Spencer, and the other to… Jason? Confused, but unable to say anything, she approached them, hoping her look would question them.

"Aria?" Jason asked as Aria neared the pair."

"Hey," Aria said in a small voice. She smiled at Spencer, who seemed rather distraught.

"Um..." Jason said, looking at Spencer then at Aria.

"Sorry," Spencer sniffed before scurrying off.

"What's the deal?" Aria asked, still puzzled beyond belief.

Jason sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's a long story."

They stayed silent.

"Jason... what does this make us?" Aria stammered.

Jason pondered for several moments. "Did you really mean what you said back in the music room?"

"Of course I did!" Aria exclaimed.

"Then why don't we start from there?"

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that :) So _JARIA ARE BACK TOGETHER YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!_**


	13. Just Like String

**Yay! Two updates in two days! So we are almost at the end of Season 2... There will be a huge step-up in Aria and Jason's relationship, and Season 3 will be the longest:) This chapter, BTW, goes through several time jumps from 2x20 – 2x23:)**

 **Also, of course to _Boris Yeltsin_ – I'd LOVE to hear your ideas. Thank you so much for being such an active reviewer on all my stories!**

* * *

 **just like string**

* * *

 _baby, if i've got you  
i don't need a parachute  
you're gonna catch me if i fall  
_ _ **— ingrid michaelson**_

* * *

Some good _had_ come out of Truth Up Day, with ultimate truths and secrets uncovered – it was ironic, really. Jason and Aria – they'd uttered three words to each other that they'd never even considered saying, even if they had felt it during their short-lived relationship, thoughts and feelings were kept inward – until Truth Up Day. And since then, they'd been more comfortable with each other, as they knew exactly how the other felt.

Maybe fairytale endings _were_ cut out.

And even though they'd been more truthful in a long, long time, Jason had still kept one secret – one he shared with Spencer. Aria was still clueless, if a little suspicious, and it had made Jason guilty. But if he spilled it, he still would be feeling that guilt, because he didn't want the whole world knowing about his and Spencer's relation, because he knew that Spencer was hurting, and he didn't want to deepen the cut.

His thoughts were pretty much like that since the day – guilt, excitement, bliss – it was rather strange to feel all three at once.

His hours at school were over, and so he came over to the street market so he could clear his mind. His and Aria's relationship was a whole deal better – now there was Spencer's he'd need to heal.

As Jason handed the man at the stall the money, he felt his back pocket vibrate, and realizing it was his phone, he took the bag and picked up.

"Jason?" Aria's cheery voice filled the line and Jason couldn't help but smile.

"Hey," Jason replied. "what's up?"

"Not much," she said. "Are you free tonight?"

"I don't have a reason to think otherwise…" Jason started, wracking his brain for some mental timetable. "Yeah, I'm free… Want to come over?"

"Okay," Aria said. "It's a date."

"A movie and takeaway – how does that sound?" Jason asked.

"Perfect," Aria answered.

"What would you like to eat?"

Aria hesitated, before saying, "Surprise me."

"Okay then…" Jason thought carefully. "There's a new French restaurant down the street."

From the other side, Aria laughed. "French food? You must really like me."

Jason too, laughed. "It's French _vegan_ food. I must really _love_ you." Jason didn't have to ask too know that Aria was smiling. She mumbled an "I love you, too, and I'll see you later", and Jason hung up, pocketing his phone again.

"Are you and Aria back together?"

" _Ah_!" Jason exclaimed, not realizing who was standing in front of him, talking to him. Seeing that it was Spencer, he recovered quickly from his shock and gave her the weakest of smiles. "Hey, Spencer, you surprised me." He thought about her question and shrugged. "How did you know?"

"Well, I heard the words 'vegan' and 'love' in the same sentence," Spencer said, although she wasn't laughing. "I know my best friend."

Noticing her frown, he spoke up, "Spencer is something wrong? How did you find me here?"

"Your office is closed," she simply stated.

"Yeah, I only work a few hours a day," he paused. "Did your father send you?"

Spencer shook her head no, and honestly, she replied, "No, I haven't talked to him."

Jason knew that Spencer was still getting over the initial shock, and so he mumbled, "You still don't believe it."

"I believe it, that's why I haven't talked to him!" Spencer crossed her arms. "I haven't talked to anybody about this."

Jason sighed. "Well, you better talk to your dad." He brushed past her, but she grabbed onto his arm, causing him to stop his tracks.

"No, I'm talking to you!"

"Look, I didn't come back to get in between you and your father," he murmured.

"Well, it's a little late for that!" she said indignantly.

"I'm sorry. I really am. This was never about hurting you." He said it with every bit of sincerity in his voice, because he really was sorry, and he never intended to hurt Spencer. Finding out your dad had fathered another child, one you knew well – that was obviously going to hurt.

"Well, what is it about? Please, Jason," Spencer said desperately. "You left town the day after I got arrested – the day we all got arrested. So what made you come back now?"

Jason cast his eyes down. He would've left the night they all got arrested, but one thing who was pulling him back was Aria – he wanted to make sure she knew that he wasn't going to give up. "It was another one of those boxes Ali liked so much. I found it under the floorboards of a room at my grandmother's." Well, Spencer deserved the truth – she had enough people lying to her in her life. "Maybe we should sit down and talk."

Spencer nodded and followed Jason to one of the benches. As soon as they sat down, Spencer blurted out, "Well, what were inside them?"

"There were letters to my mum from your dad," he said, eyeing Spencer carefully, hoping she wouldn't burst into tears.

"L-love letters?"

"Couple of those," Jason started. "Then I'm born, and he starts sounding like a lawyer. 'In light of recent events', 'Under the current situation'."

"That's my dad."

"There was something else in that box," he said. "$15,000 in cash. In envelopes – $5,000 in each one."

Alarmingly, Spencer looked up. "Where would Alison have gotten that kind of money?"

Jason shrugged – he already knew the answer. "Think about it."

He almost laughed when he saw Spencer. She seemed like any normal human being thinking – but this was what Jason usually did, freeze and let the brain do all the work, putting the pieces together. It sort of scared him when he thought about how alike he and Spencer were, even if they did share a dad.

"She found those letters and figured out what they meant, and then she blackmailed my father to keep them from blowing up both families," Spencer spoke her thoughts. She looked shocked that those words had just escaped her mouth.

"I know," said Jason, "It's hard to believe when you say it out loud."

Spencer nodded. "But if anybody had the nerve to do something like that, it was Ali."

Jason looked down as silence filled their conversation.

"I'm happy, you know," Spencer suddenly spoke up. "For you and Aria."

He smiled genuinely. "Thank you."

"I'm glad some good actually came out from Truth Up Day," she sighed and lowered her voice. "Have you… told her about… _us_?"

Jason laughed at how that sounded. "You make it sound like we're in some secret, forbidden relationship."

"Well, it didn't stop you and Meli-" Spencer clamped her mouth shut. "God, I didn't mean that… I-I'm sorry…"

"It's okay," Jason laughed it off, even if it stung a little bit. "And no, I haven't."

"You should," Spencer said. "tell her. If secrets are what tore you apart in the first place, you shouldn't still be keeping them."

Jason smiled in response, and made a mental note to remind himself to tell her when Aria came over later that day.

* * *

They had eaten the French (vegan) takeaway, and now they'd put on a movie, although neither were really concentrating. Jason was trying to find a subtle way to bring up his and Spencer's relation, and Aria was leaning on his shoulder, playing with the hem of his shirt, which made it really hard for him to think straight. He nuzzled his nose into her hair – how was he going to bring it up? _Just so you know, your best friend and I share a dad_. _Spencer's my sister!_

"Jason, you didn't tell me everything from Truth Up Day," Aria suddenly spoke up. A dark look flickered on Jason's face, and although he was glad he wasn't the one to start talking, he was still stuck on how to respond. "Jason, we first tried keeping secrets from each other and that didn't go well." Aria gritted her teeth; she was being a hypocrite, but keeping secrets from him was different, it was to keep him safe.

"Aria..." Jason started. "Aria, listen..."

"Jason," Aria sighed. "Please, I just need to know the whole story. I need you to tell me that you didn't give up on us straight away."

Jason took a deep breath. "I... Peter Hastings... he's my... he's not only Spencer and Melissa's father. He's..."

"He's what?"

"He's my father too."

Aria went silent, which slightly scared Jason. He wasn't sure how she was going to take this.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Aria panted. "Y-you're...you're Spencer's half-sister?" Aria stammered. "Oh my... so _that's_ why Spencer's been staying at my house for the past few weeks. Oh my god... Jason, I'm sorry. I really am." Jason stifled a laugh at this, because this was exactly what he had said to Spencer.

"Don't be. What happened... happened. No turning back," Jason shrugged. "It's the truth."

"I can't believe... Jason, how long have you known?" Aria asked rapidly.

"In my twenty-one years, I let myself believe that Kenneth DiLaurentis was my father. I let myself believe all the dirty, filthy lies around me," Jason closed his eyes for several moments, anger suddenly flashing through him. He pinched the bridge of his nose in any order to calm himself down. "I let myself believe my mother. I let myself believe that I was just... I was just... I was _proper_."

"I'm so sorry..." Aria reached out and cupped his face. "I can't believe no one told you."

"I can't either." Jason said through gritted teeth. "But I'm not surprised. My whole life, _my whole life_ , I've been treated like some outcast. I still remember the looks they gave me – it was obvious they were all thinking, 'You're worthless, and a piece of garbage, you're a mistake and should never have been born'. I was that dark secret, holding them together like tiny pieces of freaking string."

"Don't say that."

Jason just shook his head in amusement. All he said was true. He'd grown up in a world full of lies, and the worst part was, he was only a lie too. He'd been that dreaded secret just about holding his family together. Just about. Once the word was out about Jason being Peter's son, the DiLaurentis family would collapse, and _he'd_ be the one to blame. Not that he was surprised; he usually got the blame for everything.

"Jason, you are not a mistake. You are the most... un-mistake thing in the world," Aria saw a ghost of a smile appear on Jason's face. "Believe me, it's true. I know what it's like to be that one thing left holding your family together, and I can't even start to explain how horrible it feels. But believe me, Jason, you are _not_ a mistake."

"I kind of overreacted, didn't I?" Jason laughed nervously. He hadn't meant to go all out there, bad-mouthing his own family, but the words had been bubbling inside of him for a very long time and letting them out had made everything better.

"In your situation, that's more than okay." Aria smiled. She gave him a thoughtful look. "You and Spencer… I'm not that surprised."

Jason coughed loudly. "Wait, you knew all along? How…?"

"No, but you and Spencer are really alike."

"Okay…" Jason murmured, not quite sure where this was heading.

"I mean, you both have that sort of… intimidating aura. And you guys speak like a walking dictionary-"

"What?" Jason asked, confused.

"Come on, Jason, when you and my dad were talking about Shakespeare at that dinner party, you completely shunned Fitz out of existence." Aria giggled. "You and Spencer have the knack of doing that."

Jason shook his head disbelievingly.

"Was Spencer really upset?" Aria said in a quieter voice.

"You know Spencer, she likes to hide it – but I think she was. It must have come as a shock to her," Jason exhaled deeply. "It's going to take a long time to heal her relationship with her dad, I know, as it is with my relationship with Peter. Although I'd much rather stay angry at him."

"Why?" Although Aria too was not a great fan of Spencer's dad, especially with his tendency to neglect his daughters, she wasn't sure why Jason wanted nothing to do with him.

"Because that would make everything so much easier," Jason groaned. "And I've had enough with all this complicated shit."

Aria wanted to ask why, but she didn't want to hit a sensitive spot. "I'm sorry."

"I'm seeing Spencer later on this week," Jason mumbled. "She needs to tell me something about Peter."

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Aria said tactfully. "Or do something else?"

"And what exactly did you have in mind, Montgomery?"

"Hm…" Aria said, before leaning in to kiss him.

* * *

Jason's hatred and anger for Peter Hastings had only grown throughout the course of the days. He thought about how Peter had kept it for a secret for years and years, and he could have told Jason _anytime_. For god's sake, he lived _next door_.

Jason stared at the text from Spencer, his eyes burning into the screen. Of course, she wouldn't want anything to happen to her father, but she hoped that at least Peter would admit that she had given Alison the money which she had blackmailed him to give. He had to have her confirming his suspicions that he really did keep it a secret for over twenty years.

He entered the Brew, seeing Spencer at a table in the far corner.

"Spencer," he nodded politely.

"Hi, Jason," Spencer said, although she didn't meet his eyes. "I… sit down."

Jason smiled weakly and took the seat. "Did you ask your father about it?"

Spencer nodded solemnly. "He didn't give any money to Alison. He said that he didn't give your family any money 'for any reason'."

"What?" scoffed Jason. "And you believe that?"

"I trust my dad!" Spencer muttered. "I think he was telling me the truth.

Jason just shook his head. "If he didn't give Ali the money, then who did?"

"Well, where is the money now?" she protested.

"Why, does he want you to get it back for him?" Jason couldn't help but add snidely.

"No," Spencer said. "I already told you _he didn't give it to her_."

"Just because you believe him doesn't mean I have to," Jason sighed.

"If Alison was blackmailing somebody-"

"Not somebody, Spencer," Jason spat, pressing the fact. "It was your _father_."

"Well, what if it wasn't?" Spencer really was like Jason – independent, indignant and stubborn.

"It has to be him." he pressed.

"You don't want it to be someone else," Spencer finally said. "You want it to be my father so that you can keep on being angry."

And of course, another similarity – they both had to be right in the end.

Jason threw his napkin down. "Yeah," he rolled his eyes, adding, "Well, you were raised by lawyers." He left the Brew, slamming the door as he did so.

* * *

As soon as he left Spencer in the restaurant, Jason couldn't help but feel bad. The first thing on his list when he went to see Spencer was to be tactful, but it had dissolved right in front of his eyes as soon as Peter was brought up.

He wasn't really mad at _Spencer_ , it was more her father – his father, in fact.

He wanted to apologise.

Jason made his way to the Hastings household after a long think at his own house. He knocked on the back door, knowing that Spencer would be in.

"He's not here," she deadpanned as soon as she saw him.

"I know, his car wasn't there," Jason admitted. He had checked to see if Mr Hastings was in, but mostly he wanted to talk to Spencer. "I wanted to talk to you, actually."

Spencer nodded reluctantly, but let him in all the same. _Sorry_ was written all over her face and she shifted her weight awkwardly – this made Jason feel even more terrible. _He_ was the one who should be apologising. "Look, if I screwed up before, I am sorry. I don't really have an etiquette book for how people in our situation are supposed to treat each other…"

Jason shook away all of that, and admittedly, he mumbled, "I'm the one who's sorry."

"You are?"

Jason nodded. "Because you were right, Spencer. I don't want to find out that Alison was blackmailing someone else. I want it to be him so I can still be angry, just like you said."

Spencer's expression softened. "Because?"

"Because," Jason started. "that would make things so much easier. But… there's nothing really easy about this, is there?"

Spencer sighed. "No, not so far."

Jason looked down, before looking up again, straight into Spencer's eyes. They both had the same jaw line, he picked up, and the same nose. He wondered how he never noticed it before. "You know why we act like this, don't you? Why the two of us always seem to be facing off?"

Spencer laughed lightly. "Because we're wired the same."

And Jason gave her a genuine smile – and he realised how glad he was that Spencer was his half-sister. He'd failed Alison, and he wanted to show Spencer that he really did care about her, and he wasn't going to screw it up like he did with Ali.

"We're going to have to trust each other," Spencer spoke up. "And I know we've both just apologised, but I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for everything. When you and Aria first started dating, I positively detested the idea because… because I really didn't trust you and I… I thought you had something to do with the death of Alison…"

Jason's face fell, and he cast his eyes down.

"And I know that that wasn't true, so I'm really sorry," Spencer said. "And I thought that maybe you would hurt Aria, and that was why we broke in, which, I am also sorry for."

Jason shrugged. "I understand why you did that. But…" he sighed. "I hated Alison. I hated that she was manipulative, and fearless, and strong – too strong, really… but I… cared about her, too. And with those things aside, whatever skank she was, I wouldn't hurt her."

"I know," she said. "And as I said, I'm really, really sorry."

"I believe you," Jason murmured.

Spencer stood up and walked slowly towards him. "Have you told… Aria?"

"Yeah, I have." Jason smiled at the mention of her.

"What did she say?" she asked curiously. Another thing they had in common – their inquisitive nature.

"Well… she started with the whole 'oh my god, oh my god' thing, but then she got over the shock and started to feel sorry for me," Jason laughed. "And then she said that she wasn't as surprised as she thought she would be. Apparently we have a lot in common."

This perked her interest up, and she walked even closer, taking a seat at the kitchen table. Jason leaned over and rested his elbows on the table.

"Apparently we're both intimidating," Jason propped up an eyebrow.

"She's mentioned that a few times," Spencer laughed.

"And we're both walking talking dictionaries…"

Spencer laughed again. "Aria's already told us you have a bookworm side."

"Books are interesting!" Jason said, defending himself. "And anyway, I minored in English."

"Really? What did you major in?"

"Pre-law," Jason said.

Spencer raised her eyebrows – law was where she was leaning towards. After all, both her parents were lawyers. It surprised her, too, that she and Jason really were like one another.

"Did you attend…?" She thought about all the likely colleges he would have gone to. She knew that he was smart, but she knew he didn't go to UPenn like Melissa, and definitely Hollis. That ruled out pretty much all her guesses.

"Yale," Jason finished. "But I dropped out half-way to attend rehab. I did most of my classes online. I just decided I wanted to clear myself up before I actually got my head into studies."

"Jason… I believe my dad – although I think I do, and I'm going to clear things up," Spencer said. "I think he is telling the truth, but then again, I don't."

"And I'll give both your parents some space," Jason said. "They still see me as a big pain in the ass with my non-stop questions, so I think that'd be better."

Spencer smiled weakly and showed him the way out. "Thank you… brother…"

Jason laughed gently. "No problem… sister…"

* * *

Spencer and Jason's relationship had healed in a great matter of time, both sorry, both regretful. Peter hadn't lied about the money – he'd used the money to pay off a detective to investigate _Melissa_. Jason was still clueless – she didn't want him to be upset. The truth would come out one way or another, but he wanted him to stay without knowing. After all, he had Aria, and he needed a lot of catching up to do.

Aria had never been more in love with him. She knew that he was still hurting, still not fully recovered from his sister's death, but she knew that soon he would recover. She had kept Duncan a secret – hopefully still a secret – because that was all about finding Alison, or, 'Vivian', and he didn't want to upset Jason further.

Aria waited impatiently for her boyfriend to arrive – she was at the hospital, her mind all over the place with the very thoughts of Duncan, and Vivian, and Alison, and now, on top of all things, Jason's house had caught on fire.

As soon as Jason entered the waiting room, she stood up and ambled towards him.

"Jason! Are you okay?" Aria wrapped her arms around him, and he returned the hug.

He looked at her, puzzled. "Yeah, of course I am. Why are you here?"

"The fire..." Aria started.

"Did you get hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"No, no, no, I'm fine. Spencer and Hanna, you know..." Aria didn't say anymore. She didn't have to.

"Did _anyone_ get hurt?" Jason asked, his gaze flickering towards Hanna and her mom, then Spencer on the other side talking with her ex-boyfriend, Toby, in hushed tones.

"I... I... Jenna... she got caught in the fire... she's in there, right now," Aria stammered.

"Jenna?" Jason racked his brain. "Oh...the Jenna who made the speech at the memorial. She's blind…"

No more had to be said, because both knew that it was the Jenna who had spoken at the memorial they had planned months ago, and that Jenna was indeed blind. They took a seat on the opposite side to Hanna and Ashley.

"What was Jenna doing at my house?" It had been bugging him since Aria brought it up – was there a reason _she_ of all people were there?"

"You... don't know?" Confusion flickered on Aria's face – if Jason didn't know...?

"No," Jason admitted. "I was halfway up Scranton when I got a text saying there'd been a fire."

Aria exhaled deeply. "How bad was it?"

Jason sighed heavily. "First floor is pretty much damaged in the back, but I won't really know much else until the morning."

"I'm sorry…" Aria placed a hand on his.

"There's something I still don't get though… what was Jenna Marshall of all people doing at my house?"

"I don't know," answered Aria truthfully. "But Jenna told us _you_ sent her a text, asking her to meet her there. You didn't?"

"No..." Jason looked around. "Do you know who sent the text though? And why?"

Aria shrugged. "We don't know." But Aria knew very well who sent the text – A. But no way was she going to tell Jason now. She wasn't going to risk getting him hurt, just like Toby and Caleb.

"Are Hanna and Jenna okay?" Jason asked.

Aria nodded before resting her head on his shoulder. She caught eye of Spencer and Toby and closed her eyes for several seconds. Spencer and Toby broke up because of lost trust – because of A. Maya was still MIA, probably because of A, and Hanna and Caleb's relationship were teetering on the edges, especially with the recent hacking – because of A. She didn't want to think about what would happen to her and Jason if A got into _their_ relationship – again. More secrets were being kept, more lies being told – if A had got hold of anything…

"Hey, it's alright," Jason murmured, and he gave her one last hug.

"I know." Aria buried her face in his chest, until Veronica Hastings came along, in which he let go. "I… I'd probably have to talk to Spencer's mom."

Jason watched as Aria, Hanna and Ashley approached Spencer's mom. There was something that really didn't add up – there was this, and from before there was the reason why he and Aria broke up. The memory stick full of N.A.T videos – how on earth did she grab hold of those? He had long forgiven her, and he knew that she wasn't snooping around, but something _really_ didn't make sense. But he couldn't get anything from the top of his mind – it was all probably just coincidences.

At least, he hoped so.

* * *

 **Now I have to admit, that comes first in the list of shittiest endings in the world... In this story, Spencer and Jason will have a closer relationship than the series, because I love their sibling relationship and I just love Spencer and Jason so:P**


	14. Coming Home

**A/N - Hello! It's been a while :( but this is it...the Season 2 finale! So it isn't _exactly_ following the episode, and I haven't got all the speech right and other things like that. I'm using what I know and remember from this episode (with a little help from PLL Wikia).**

 **THANK YOU ALL FOR 4K FREAKING VIEWS AND THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED, FAVOURITED AND REVIEWED! I'M LITERALLY DYING BECAUSE SERIOUSLY...42 REVIEWS?! :) *GIVES EVERYONE 1000000 HUGS AND KISSES***

* * *

Chapter Fourteen  
Coming Home

 _/'Cause all I know is we said 'hello'  
And your eyes looked like coming home\_

* * *

'We are almost at the end of our one-year running investigation on Alison DiLaurentis.'

As soon as the reporter on the TV said those words, Hanna, Emily, Aria and Spencer turned around, their eyes glued to the screen.

'Alison DiLaurentis went missing one and a half years ago, aged fifteen.' The reporter said. 'Then, a year later, her body was found in the old DiLaurentis' household. Following recent investigations, we have found a man, aged twenty-one. Garrett Reynolds has been arrested for the murder of Alison DiLaurentis.'

The girls gasped. ' _Garrett_?'

'Garrett was once a member of the Rosewood PD, and we have found out that he was only working as a cop to clear his name by destroying any evidence.'

'I always knew Ian was innocent.'

The girls turned away and looked at Melissa, who was crossing her arms by the door.

'You girls too. I always knew you were innocent.' Melissa took a step forward. 'However, I do know what happened with Jenna Marshall. And if Garrett had a reason to kill Alison, he had a good one.' Melissa then smiled slickly. 'Ooh, mind if I steal that?' Melissa pointed at the bowl in Aria's hands.

'Yeah, sure.'

'Thanks.' Melissa beamed and took a mouthful. 'Mmm, toffee.' She then walked off, leaving four very bewildered girls.

Spencer reached for the remote to turn off the telly. 'Well…'

The doorbell rang, causing Hanna to jump. 'Geez, that stupid bell!'

'I'll get it.' Spencer said, already making her way to the door. When she opened it, she saw a man in a blue cap. Not a second later he had left, and shoved four envelopes in Spencer's hands.

'Who is it, Spence?' asked Emily.

Spencer walked back into the kitchen and passed them each an envelope.

 _You are cordially invited to the Rosewood Junior Society Masquerade Ball. Eight o'Clock to two o'Clock. Costumes required._

'Whatever is this?' Aria asked, eyeing the invitation suspiciously. 'You don't think it's some sort of trap, is it? We don't have to go...right?'

'No. No, of course not.' Spencer said immediately.

Hanna pouted. 'Why not? It doesn't sound harmful…'

Four phones beeped. They slowly reached for their electronics, exchanging looks.

 **Be there when the clock strikes twelve.  
-A**

'O-okay…' Hanna stammered. 'I take that all back.'

'We don't have a choice any more.' Aria said.

'Wait, we're actually going?' Hanna exclaimed. 'No way! Did you just read the text. No way I'm going to be at the ball if _A_ is.'

'But think about it.' Spencer started. 'If A's going to be there-'

'-we can finally find out who A is!' Emily finished. 'We'll corner her…him...whichever and we can finally bring an end to this.'

Hanna was still not convinced. 'Come on, guys, we all know what A's capable of. Surely we don't want it to happen again?'

Aria shrugged. 'Hanna, it's a huge masquerade ball with everyone we know. I'm pretty sure A's not going to risk everything and plant a bomb in the chocolate fondue or something.'

Hanna went slightly green. 'I'm not going near the chocolate fondue.'

Emily rolled her eyes. 'We'll have our dates there too. All this time A's wanted everything except us to tell the ones closest to us. I doubt A's going to blow its cover up now.'

'Well, you never know!' Hanna protested.

* * *

The lights of the large sign flickered, causing all the girls to flinch.

'That's _seriously_ freaking me out.' Hanna shivered, brushing off any dirt on her coat, having just fallen over on the muddy ground.

'I second that.' Emily said.

The liars slowly made their way to the entrance of the Lost Woods Resort. They'd been able to find some key information from Ali's old bag, and they'd found one address on a postcard. One address that could help them with everything.

Spencer led the way and knocked slowly on the door. 'Hello?'

'Visitors!' A creepy man swung the door open and embraced them all. 'Harold Crane, at your service.' The man then bowed.

'Um…' Emily started.

'We were hoping if we could find a room here to stay in. Just for the night.' asked Aria.

'Well, _of course_!' Harold grinned. 'Come on, then!'

Spencer then suddenly remembered that on the postcard, Ali had stayed in Room One.

'Can we have Room One?' Spencer asked.

Harold turned around. 'This way.'

Spencer smiled at the other girls and they all followed Harold into a large room, with a puke green carpet and scabby walls.

'Thank you.' Emily said. When Harold had left Hanna immediately jumped to the radiator, which, unfortunately, was broken. Emily joined her soon afterwards, leaving Spencer and Aria to investigate the room.

'So Ali stayed in _here_?' Aria said. 'Wow...I never knew Ali would go to places like this.'

Spencer sighed. 'Han, Em, are you coming with us?'

'I'm cold.' shivered Emily.

Hanna narrowed her eyes at Emily. 'Wait, no, _I'm_ colder than she is!'

'Well, I guess it's just you and me now.' Spencer smiled.

'Okay.' Aria started. 'Ready for anything.'

Spencer grinned. 'You're little, but your big. C'mon, Team Sparia!'

Aria looked up, confused, but followed Spencer out of the room and to the reception.

'What are we doing?' Aria asked the taller girl.

Spencer just smirked as she ducked under the counter. 'Aria, you distract him if he comes, okay?' Aria nodded and walked off. Spencer saw from the bookshelf under one of the drawers that there were several guest books, all for a year. She pulled out the 2009 and flicked through.

There it was.

'Have you found it, Spence?' Aria walked back to where Spencer was. Together, they trailed their fingers down under the page until they saw the very name they were looking for.

 _Vivian Darkbloom._

Vivian had checked herself in twice in 2009. Alison had stayed at the Lost Woods Resort.

Twice.

* * *

Aria looked down at her black and red dress as her, Spencer, Hanna and Emily entered the ball. Lights shone in different directions, and their eyes moved around the room quickly. It was obvious what they were all searching for.

'A could be anyone of them dancing.' Emily said.

'Okay, Em, _not helping_!' Hanna said loudly. 'Do you think we should just go back?'

'No!' Spencer exclaimed. 'We're here because we're looking for A. Don't you want to bring an end to this?'

'Try getting run over by a car!' Hanna said. 'You'd be as scared as I am.'

Aria rolled her eyes. 'Let's separate. It'll be easier.'

So they did just that, Aria and Emily walking to the right and Hanna and Spencer walking the opposite way.

'It's not midnight yet.' Emily started. 'Do you think A's got here yet?'

'I'm guessing A's been here since last Tuesday waiting to pounce on us…' Aria stopped when she saw Emily's alarmed expression. 'Look, what I'm saying is we have to be careful. A's capable of anything and we know it. We don't know when A's going to pop out…'

'But we don't even know what we're looking for.' Emily said.

Aria frowned. 'You're right.'

'Do you think maybe it really was just a trick? A could lure us here so he...she...it could see how easy we were able to fall for A's plan.' Emily paused. 'Well, I guess Hanna's found something to do worthwhile.' Emily pointed at Hanna, who was dancing with Caleb, being closely watched by Spencer and Mona.

Aria couldn't help but smile. She was happy for Caleb and Hanna. She was happy that with A and everything, they managed to pull through.

Aria then suddenly saw Emily's face lighten up and Aria followed her gaze, seeing a Paige grinning like mad.

'Go, Em.' Aria smiled. 'Go dance with your girl. We can forget about A for now. Go on.'

'Are you sure?' asked Emily.

'Never been surer.' Aria laughed. When Emily ran to her girlfriend, Aria had suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. Her and Jason had been going strong, but they hadn't seen each other for almost a week now,

'You look beautiful.'

Aria whipped her head around and beamed when she saw Jason standing, his hands in his pocket.

'Jason!' Aria exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

'Hey, Ar.' Jason said, before moving down to capture her lips.

'I didn't think you'd be coming.' Aria said.

'Yeah, neither did I.' Jason admitted. 'But Mona told me you'd want me here. And then Caleb insisted I'd come here.' Jason's face then turned sour. 'I had to go _shopping_ with Mona and Caleb. Jesus, that was absolutely _horrible_. I mean, I can't even go to Target without wanting to die.'

Aria processed what Jason had told her. 'Mona really did that?'

Jason nodded. 'Anyway, care to dance, Princess?'

Aria laughed, letting herself get pulled by Jason. 'Whatever.'

Aria wrapped her arms around his neck, and he did the same, tugging his arms around her waist. Aria smiled up at her boyfriend.

'This is nice.' she murmured.

'Mhmm…' Jason mumbled.

'Jason?' Aria started.

'Yeah?'

'Could you ever imagine us here...when Ali was still here?' Aria asked.

Jason laughed. 'You mean, when I was full of pot and you're hair was pink? Well, I guess not. You were Ali's best friend. I was Ali's sister. It wouldn't work.'

Aria blushed slightly. 'But when we were friends.'

Jason laughed again. 'I always thought you were cute.'

Aria blushed even more and her cheeks felt hot. 'If Ali ever heard that, I'm pretty sure she'd cut your ears off in your sleep.'

Jason tucked a piece of Aria's stray hair behind her ear. He kissed her again, softly.

'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

Years ago, the idea of the two would have been completely absurd and out of the picture. But now...nothing felt more perfect.

* * *

It was Mona.

The Mona who had once been the loser of the school, continuously harassed and tortured by Alison, the Mona who had then befriended Hanna and moved up to be the it-girl of Rosewood High, the Mona who had briefly helped Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer in order to bring out A…was A herself.

But Mona looked so helpless in the room she was out in. Her face emotionless, with make-up and blood splotched on it.

Why did she have to do this to herself? Why be A? What was the point? What on earth happened to her?

Despite all the horrible, horrible things Mona had done to put the girls in fear, Aria felt bad for her. Mona wasn't crazy.

When they'd left the police station, they were all in tears. A was gone. But so was Mona.

Hanna stayed silent for the rest of the work and trailed behind her four best friends. She was confused. She was hurt. She thought Mona was her best friend.

The four girls walked on, when they heard a faint siren, and red lights everywhere. In the far-off distance, they saw an ambulance parked in front of Emily's house.

'Oh my god.' Emily said. She ran ahead of the others, who followed closely. Emily's mom walked up to her.

'Emily…' Pam slowly said. 'They found a body. They think…they think it's...they think it's M-Maya.'

Emily froze. For a second, she felt nothing, and that was when the pain started. A loud sob escaped her and rattled through her body.

'Em…' Spencer exclaimed, trying to calm her down.

Aria and Hanna ran to her as well, and Aria grabbed Emily's dress, trying to stop her from running under the police lines. Hanna held onto her tightly as well, making sure she didn't escape.

'Em…' Aria started. 'Please, Emily…'

Just like Alison, Maya was gone.

It was all over. But then why did they all feel the fear and pain creep up again? Why did it feel like A had somehow managed to come back?

Why was it that when they thought they'd come home happy and full of love, the worst struck?

Why did life have to be so unfair?

Three hours later, they all lay on Emily's bed. They might have lost Maya and Mona, but in the end, they hadn't lost each other.

A was gone. It was over.

* * *

 **A/N - I can't believe we've reached the end of Season 2! Thank you for all your support :) I really really REALLY appreciate it! You guys are the reason I keep going! I think I'll update within a week, seeing as my school's already broken up. I love you guys SO much 3**

 **Much love,**

 **Ali x**


	15. Going in Circles

**season three (or in other words, _truth or dare_** **)**

 **Hey! Apologies for the semi-hiatus, but very excitingly, I have only** _ **just**_ **come back from Australia last week, so I haven't really been able to update.** _ **BUT**_ **, updates will be coming a little quicker now. Quick info: It's been five months since Chapter Fourteen (just like in the show).**

* * *

 **going in circles**

* * *

 _my mind is a whirlpool_  
 _give me a little hope_  
 _one small thing to cling to_  
 _ **— luther vandross**_

* * *

"To getting it through to senior year!" A grin lit up Spencer's face as she brought her glass up.

"To getting it through to senior year!" Hanna and Aria nodded from beside her (with Emily stayind dead silent), and happily clunked their glasses with each other's. They were doing what normal teenagers did, because now, they were, more or less, normal teenagers (almost, almost), and they were having a perfectly normal toast, in order for the start of yet another year. Being a normal teenager (almost, almost) about five months ago would have been ridiculed, and labelled _unheard of_ , but now A was finally gone, that was what they were, weren't they?

Five months was a long time.

And in that time, Aria had been able to a lot of things, such as mending all the things she had broken, such as trust, and all her relationships. Her and Mike were an example, and throughout the year, she'd been able to understand him like a normal brother and sister would, and what with everything he'd been through, she really didn't blame him for anything he'd done in the past. Similarly, there was her and her father, in which Aria had managed to forgive and forget the whole _Meredith_ fiasco (just about). An understanding of some sorts was created under the wards, and it wasn't just her who had finally been able to forgive him: Byron and Ella split up around May, and Aria knew that it was for the best.

With A gone, Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer had only grown closer, stronger, because they knew that they'd been through so much together, something they would never ever forget. They were all ready to catch one another if one was ever to fall – Emily in particular, because they all knew very well that she was still in a fragile state, nowhere near getting over Maya's death. They were all going to be there for her – always.

As for Aria's relationship with Jason – with all the secrets and lies fully out of the way, they, too, had grown closer and stronger as the days went by. They drew their strength out from each other, and together, they ruled the world, for they were Aria and Jason. That was just who they were – even if it was all to break one day, for now, they were as perfect as perfect could get. Sure, she had hesitations that always pulled her back from time to time, but they were still as perfect as perfect could get.

It was just like the fairytale love story she always wanted. The kind where she was always reluctant to act on, because things did break, a lot of the time. But she was convinced that she had found it. Finally.

"Not everyone made it," Emily deadpanned, as she took another sip from what was her six hundredth drink. She tilted her head at a slight angle as she looked around at the other girls, and with a little slur in her words, added, "To Maya."

The other girls nodded, and replied, "To Maya."

Aria edged closer to Emily, who seemed on the verge of breaking down again, and placed a gentle hand to rest on her knee. Hanna grabbed onto her hand; Spencer spoke slowly, "Em, you know that we're here for you – always."

Emily nodded slowly, but shrugged it off, and bent her head down.

 _Buzz_. _Buzz_. _Buzz_. _Buzz_.

Something pulled them back so they were reluctant to see the message – but Mona was locked away, hidden, and miles and miles away from them, so they no longer hand anything to worry about... right?

 **Show me your boobs.**  
 _ **—**_ **A**

"What," laughed Spencer, the first to break the silence. "does Mona have a ten-year-old brother or something?"

And they all laughed along. For now, they could act as reckless as they could, because they were normal seventeen-year-old girls, weren't they?

(Almost, almost.)

* * *

A sudden coldness prickled through her skin as Aria woke up later that night, feeling both a little dazed and a little dizzy. She sat up, only to find out that the coldness was coming from the fact that the space next to her was empty. Aria looked around, and could only see seeps of blonde hair in the corner of her eye – so where were Spencer and Emily?

Aria nudged Hanna, and as she looked up, Aria could see the perplexity on her face, too. They exchanged one look, and started to stand up, while thinking _where the hell are they?_

A light breeze stopped their tracks, and both turned around to see Spencer walk through the doors. "Emily... she's gone." Pause. "I've looked everywhere for her."

Hanna stopped. "She's just... g-gone"

Grimly, Spencer nodded, and gripped onto the armchair. "The door was open, and she was just... gone. Her phone's off, too. I tried calling her; she won't pick up."

Aria shook her head over and over again. "This... this can't be happening again."

Spencer cast her eyes down, refusing to meet contact. "We musn't skip to conclusions, though. Maybe Emily just wanted to get out for a little while, you know? For some space. Like before, when we went to go to Dr Sulli..." Spencer didn't finish her sentence, because the memories would only rush in and ruin everything.

"Spence, we need your car," Aria said at once, ignoring both statements. "You're right... maybe she did, you know... wanted some space. But really, this... this _can't_ be happening again."

"I agree," Hanna said from beside both of them.

Spence nodded, and in the freezing cold, they got into the car, and drove, and drove, and drove. They didn't stop for a while – going all over Rosewood. They first tried the church, and they wondered if she was at home, but all the lights were off, and worrying Mrs Fields would be their last resort. They tried Toby's old house, too, even if there was near to no reason for her to be there – the swimming pool, Rosewood High – and yet Emily was nowhere to be found.

They ended up at the graveyard; it was the only place in Rosewood they hadn't checked. It was unlikely that she'd be taking a night-time stroll as the ghosts arose, but they still had to be sure.

They entered the creaking gates, and almost immediately they spotted something.

"It looks like a shovel," remarked Hanna, as she pointed at one propped up against one of the opening gates of the cemetery. Spencer nodded, clarifying this, and Hanna carried on, "Do you think Emily might be..." Hanna drifted off as she caught sight of exactly who she was talking about, and who exactly they were looking for.

"Em!" shouted Spencer. Aria and Hanna followed shortly behind her, and they ran to Emily.

Her face, it was emotionless, and she still seemed in a drunken haze. She was standing there, as if she'd just been _placed_ there, and her hands were muddy. After they made sure _she_ was outside, the place where they where standing caught their attention, and one by one, with that same dread searing through them, they looked to see where they were.

 **Alison DiLaurentis**  
 **Beloved daughter, sister and friend.**  
 **1994-2009**

The words were slightly faded, but that didn't matter, because what they were staring at was the grave. The grave that seemed to have been dug up.

Aria thought she'd been done with lies. Especially with Mona being safely locked up in the nuthouse, there was certainly no reason to lie – not anymore.

But then they found Emily at the dug-up grave, and since then, they'd done nothing but lie, and lie, and lie – to the police, to Spencer's mom, to almost everyone. They'd done what they had to do, slipping Veronica a note, making triple sure that she knew that they were at the _lakehouse_ , and certainly not the barn, or the cemetery, for that matter. They'd hidden the shovel well, too, getting rid of any fingerprints that could possibly lead the police to _Emily_.

Aria tried to hide the guilt, she really did, but there were some things that could never just be _packed away and forgotten about_. Not in this world.

She had a very hard time waking up for school – it didn't help the fact that since the five nights it _happened_ , she hadn't got a blink of sleep, left to tumble in all her delusions and dirty, dirty lies. A new year was creeping in, and wasn't she just looking forward to it?

Another year, a new one, one without A, yet one with A in all the same.

(It wouldn't ever _just be over_.)

* * *

"Have any of you seen Emily around?" asked Spencer, as they met up in the school courtyard in the morning. Emily had been MIA for most of the five days, and they'd started getting worried about her – she was still in her slightly 'edgy' stage, so who knew what she could have been getting up to?

"No," Hanna sighed. "If I'm honest, I haven't seen her at all since we got questioned..." She stopped herself before she could even _go_ there.

Aria, too, sighed, in almost exasperation. "I do hope she's okay – she really hasn't been herself for the last... I don't know. I know, I know that it's probably about Maya, but she's been acting really distant."

"Distant?" snorted Hanna. "I know someone who fits under _that_ category well." Hanna's gaze slowly drifted off to Lucas Gottesman, who was speaking to a very skinny-waisted brunette with a high messy bun. "He hasn't been _normal_ since the Masquerade Ball."

They stayed silent for a while, lightly observing Lucas, staring at him in a way that had to be harmless – except Lucas noticed their eyes on him, and he turned around to look at them, before quickly scampering off into the opposite direction.

"He _did_ seem quite sketchy during the last term," Aria nodded.

"And he doesn't seem to be taking half the extra-curricular activities he usually does," added Spencer. "I think he even quit the decathlon team."

Hanna sighed again, until she caught sight of Caleb, and it made her face light up. "I'll catch up with you guys later, then." She ran off, receiving a kiss from Caleb, and they both walked away, hand in hand.

"They look really happy together," Aria smiled as they left. "So... how are you and Toby doing?"

"Fairly good, I'd say. In a Hastings way," Spencer grinned. "He's planning to take me out for dinner some time, which is pretty exciting. How are you and Jason?"

Aria's face fell into a wince. She hadn't seen Jason since the day before the sleepover, and when Ali's body went missing, she _had_ come to try and talk to him, but each time it was the same – no answer. "I think he's ignoring me," she said. "But I don't blame him, you know?"

Spencer gave her a weak smile. "He'll come around, sooner or later. And if you _do_ see him... tell him I'd like to talk to him some time."

Aria nodded. Jason and Spencer's relationship had improved a great deal, Aria knew that, and they both accepted the fact that they were related. "I will. I promise."

Giving Aria a quick one-armed hug, she said, "I've got to dash, I'll see you later, Small."

Aria rolled her eyes at the creativity. "Whatever, Big." When Spencer, too, disappeared behind the block, Aria took one last look around, just in case Emily magically turned, before heading towards the restroom."

She opened the cubicle door, locking it, and then hung her bag on the peg. She immediately stopped when she heard a little _rustle rustle_ coming from the bathroom, and holding her breath in a rush of unforeseen fear, she peered underneath the door, springing back as soon as she saw... damn...

Someone was out there.

The _rustle_ became louder, and Aria spotted the black shoes pacing around the room until suddenly, right in front of her door, it stopped.

" _Aghh_!" she exclaimed. "Somebody, somebody _help_! Please! _P-l-e-a-s-e_!"

She stopped, hoping that it would go away, and then _she_... _couldn't_... _breathe_.

* * *

It was a while until Hanna and Spencer came rushing into the bathroom – by then, Aria had collapsed onto the floor, and was rocking herself to and fro under one of the sinks, her breath shallow and jagged.

"A," she breathed out, tears rolling down her cheeks like they were born to. "I – saw – A – and – had – a – p-panic – attack."

Hanna shook her head vehemently. "Ari, it couldn't have beem."

Spencer wrapped her arms arms around her, "Han's right. Mona's locked away and can't reach us anymore. There's _no way_ A could have..."

"But I _saw_ the black... the black..." Aria hiccuped, and didn't say anymore.

" _Aria_ ," Hanna pressed on, as she held tightly onto her hand again, in any way to soothe Aria down – evidently, it wasn't working. "No one can hurt you anymore. It's alright. It's all alright."

Aria nodded slowly, yet unconvincingly. For now, she'd agree, even if she knew that there'd be more to this. Sooner or later.

* * *

Aria knocked once, twice, _three_ times on the door.

Her breathing had long turned back to normal since the whole bathroom fiasco, and now she felt it quickening again as she stood outside Jason's door for the... what, twelfth time this week? _Open up, open up, open up_ , she thought to herself, inwardly screaming at the door, and Jason, _please, just open the door. You're worrying me_.

The door opened on Knock Number Five. Jason stood at the frame of the door with dishevelled hair, and bags under his eyes the size of saucers.

"Hello, Ar," he mumbled in a voice barely audible.

"Hi, Jason," Aria smiled at him weakly as she walked in. "How – how are you?" Silence (although she didn't expect much else). She had really nothing to say, except – "I'm – I'm so sorry."

Jason shifted on his weight awkwardly. "Wh-why? You did nothing wrong. I'm the one who should be apologising – I shouldn't have shut you out like that." He stopped, and then kissed her, although it all felt too quick, and too meaningless.

"Do you want me to leave?" Aria asked.

Jason shook his head. "No, stay. Please."

Aria grinned, and pulled him in for another kiss, making sure it felt slower, and more meaningful. "Well, with those puppy eyes, how can I refuse?"

It was silent again for a couple of minutes.

He spoke up first: "I'm really glad you were safe in Spencer's lakehouse when it... happened," said Jason, in all seriousness. He took hold of her hand's as she averted her gaze from him – what would his reaction be like if he found out that she _hadn't_ been at the lakehouse, but instead spent most of this night cleaning up Emily's puke, and burning all her clothes. "I should've called to make sure you were okay," he carried on. "I've just been really... occupied, and I shouldn't be using that as an excuse, but..."

"Jason," Aria said firmly. "It's okay. It's all okay."

Jason smiled at her, and she smiled back, and it all seemed perfect again.

* * *

Aria walked to Spencer's front yard in an almost flurry – the text ( _Come quickly!_ ) had somehow worried her, although to be honest, that wasn't exactly news – what Spencer had to say usually worried her.

When she got there, she saw that Hanna and Emily were already there.

"What's up?" Aria asked.

"I've been doing some research," answered Spencer. "About everything – we _know_ it's all over, but we still have so many questions left unanswered. Like who Black Swan is." Spencer paused. "Mona wasn't the Black Swan. Look," Spencer opened her laptop and showed them a 3D reconstruction of Mona's old A lair. "this is her lair."

"We can see that," Hanna rolled her eyes. "But is it really necessary to go back there? Just the thought gives me the heebie jeebies." Beside her, Aria nodded; Emily looked at the floor.

"Yeah, Spence, we emptied it," Aria started. "We emptied it because we _didn't_ want to be reminded again – I'm not going to go back there and _see_ it all again."

"When did we empty it?" Spencer asked her, in which Aria looked skeptical. "We didn't go back after... after..." Spencer stole a glance at Emily. "After we found out that Mona was A. So therefore, we couldn't have emptied it..."

"What's your point, then?" Hanna said bluntly.

"My point is that we don't know who the Black Swan is," she replied. "We need to know the purpose of the Black Swan – she couldn't have just... been there. She must have had some sort of alliance with Mona: there were pictures of her costume in her lair."

"And you're saying that we didn't empty it," Emily spoke up, making all three look at her in surprise that a cat hadn't got hold of her tongue.

"Yes," Spencer nodded. "Because we didn't. If we did, wouldn't we all remember that we had?"

 _Flash flash flash_ ,

Sharing a look of perplexity, the girls heard some quiet noises coming from the back yard, before a full blown _nee-naw nee-naw_ filled the atmosphere. They ran out, one by one, to see Spencer's car on alarm, with all the windows and door open. And the state the car was in...

Pictures – lots and lots of them. Spencer's car was filled to the brim with _pictures_.

They looked in, closer into the photograph – it was Emily, unmistakably at the cemetery, in front of a grave, with the faded words _Alison DiLaurentis_ scrawled across the stone.

As if on cue, each of their phones went off.

 **Mona played with dolls. I play with body parts.**  
 **Game on, bitches.**  
 _ **—**_ **A**

* * *

 **This chapter is not very good, I'm sorry, but I'm all in that rush mode when I'm half suffering from Writer's Block, yet I want everything all done and completed.**


	16. Owning Up

**Sorry, it's been a while since I updated :( but I wanted to thank EVERYONE! I mean… 51 followers? And 31 favourites? _Seriously_? THANK YOU ALL! And another thing, I am in the process of editing the whole story, and am at the moment, in the process of editing Chapter 7 (I've still got quite a while until C15 but… meh). I've changed the layout and everything, so it's a bit dodgy at the moment, but I hope the content is okay! Please enjoy Chapter 16! **

* * *

**owning up**

* * *

 _i'm gonna take more care next time_ _  
_ _love's on the line  
i gotta get my message through  
_ _ **— the sweet**_ _  
_

* * *

" _Hedda Gabler_ ," Mrs Montgomery started as she paced around the classroom. "Dynamic. Touching. Tragic. It tells the story about a newlywed…"

Aria lost interest as her mother droned on about the wonders of this _Hedda_ , who had just got back from her honeymoon, already completely bored and fed up with her husband. Dynamic – well, it was the subject of most of the dramas around. Touching – she guessed, especially if the woman had cheated on him. Tragic – of course, if ditching your lovers could be described as that.

"…And she is struck – between one man, and another…"

Aria once again had zoned out, but this time, she was thinking about the events of the previous day. There was a new A. Mona had been the first A. And now there was a new one.

They'd all done a lot of thinking, and at first, they'd considered Mona still at their tail – but Mona Vanderwaal was all the way in Radley, tucked up behind triple-locked doors.

"…Once, and possibly still, she had loved him." Ella looked around. "Are you all taking notes?"

Alarmed, Aria quickly scrambled into her bag for her notebook, and a pencil case. She realized that Spencer and Emily, whom she shared this class with, were doing the same thing. She also realized that Emily stay crouched under her desk – a little longer than it would usually take one to get a lone notebook and pencil from their schoolbag.

"Mrs Montgomery…" Emily put her hand up, frowning. From behind her, Aria and Spencer exchanged a look, unsure on what was happening. "May I be excused? I… I really don't feel that great anymore."

Ella nodded. "Of course, Emily."

"Mom – I mean, _Mrs Montgomery_ , I… I also don't feel that well," Aria mumbled soon afterwards.

"Me too, Mrs Montgomery," Spencer said. "I think it's from the food we ate yesterday. I hope it hasn't got to Hanna as well."

"I… okay then," said Ella. "Just remember to get your homework from your classmates!"

"Yes, mother." Aria mumbled as she left the classroom with Spencer.

"You have no idea why, right?" Spencer asked her. "Do you think it's about her tests?"

"I don't know," Aria shrugged. "But I guess we're about to find out." They saw Emily disappear into the bathroom, and Spencer and Aria disappeared with her.

"Em? Em!" Spencer said as soon as they were in. "Are you alright?"

Not a second later, the door bust open again, and in came Hanna.

"I saw you guys running here… what's wrong?" Hanna asked.

Emily turned to her best friends and frowned again. She placed her bag onto the sink, and from it she produced a large, dense necklace, which seemed to be made out of teeth. If it was real teeth, Aria did not know, but all the same it was horrifying and equally disturbing. One by one, they read the message.

 **Dead girls can't smile.**

"Is it from A?" Hanna queried in a small voice.

"Probably," said Spencer. "I mean, I doubt her dentist would send her these kinds of threats."

"Is it… do you… do you think it's _real_ teeth?" Aria asked.

"No," Emily said uncertainly. "At least, I don't _think_ …"

On the other hand, Hanna had said, "Yes. I worked at a dentist for two months – there were plenty of teeth around me, and I think I would know the difference between real and fake teeth. And this" Hanna picked up the necklace. "is real teeth."

"God," Aria shivered. "It's creepy enough."

Suddenly, the knob of the bathroom door started to open, and the girls hurried into one of the cubicles, squashing up into one corner, while accidentally dropping the necklace into the toilet in the process.

When the person who entered left, they stared back down at the teeth necklace, which was floating in toilet water.

"Damn it," Spencer muttered under her breath. She turned to the other girls. "Don't move." With that, Spencer bent down slowly and carefully reached her hand out to take it out. However, as soon as her hand reached for it, the sensors went off, and the necklace, the evidence, and probably a whole deal more, was flushed away.

"Why are we so _smart_?" Emily groaned, sarcasm dripping through her words. "Now I _really_ think I feel unwell."

"Me too," Aria clutched onto her stomach. "I'm gonna skip lunch, guys."

"Same," Hanna shook her head.

Spencer peered at her watch and sighed. "I guess Period Three's over."

The liars left the bathroom and went into the courtyard, all still shaken up from not only the events of the day before, with the whole new A business, but with the new message that gad winded up in Emily's bag.

"Do you think there's a team?" Aria asked suddenly. It had never crossed her mind before, but suddenly, it all seemed possible.

"Remember the Black Swan? Mona was definitely not dressed as the Black Swan that night," Spencer nodded along. "And this new A… Mona certainly can't be new A, because she's locked up tight in Radley. She must have some sort of team – or at least, a partner-in-crime."

"Can you visit Mona again?" asked Emily.

Hanna seemed hesitant. It was no lie that she'd visited Mona the odd time throughout the year – except she'd lied to a lot of people to do so. Eventually:

"I'll try. But I doubt Mona will start talking."

And even before she could start explaining that, there was a large _bash_ , claiming the liars' attention. Jenna Marshall, with her trademark black glasses and stick, had just crashed into one of the students, and both the student and the student's bag was left to crumple on the floor.

"Jenna seems to be back," Emily noted.

"Yeah," Aria said. "Is it just me… or does she seem blinder than the last time?"

* * *

This time, Jason answered the door at the first knock. He seemed a great deal better than the last time she had visited – he seemed to be more awake and alert, less tired and definitely brighter. She could still see that look of sadness, but nonetheless, she was glad the old Jason was back.

"Hey there, ex-Pink Hair," Jason grinned.

"You know, you've said that joke so many times, it actually is funny." Aria rolled her eyes as she entered the house.

"Aw, you know you love it." he chuckled. "So… to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I just wanted to see how you were holding up, silly." Aria laughed. "How are you holding up?"

"Better," Jason nodded. "I'm returning to school tomorrow – they let me off several days because they reckoned I was still 'touchy'. And so far I've succeeded in blocking out calls from my parents regarding this whole thing, which wasn't really that difficult in the first place, because I never received any."

Aria wasn't sure how to answer, except:

"Cupcakes?"

Jason laughed. "No, it's cool."

Aria pouted, bringing her _Lucky Leon's_ bag to his face. "Are you sure? 'Cause I got your _favourites_! No? I'll just have them _all_ to myself then…"

"Eugh… I hate you." Jason said, taking the cupcake which was in her hand. "My sweet tooth always gets the better of me."

"It's good – new range." Aria said, as she took a munch of her cupcake.

"So…" Jason started slowly. "How are you holding up? School's been okay for you?"

"Jason, I don't need another father." Aria giggled, wiping off the icing she had somehow gotten on her nose.

"Sorry…" Jason sighed. "But seriously… how is school at the moment?"

"Fine," grumbled Aria, clearing A, and her panic attack, and everything else from her mind. "Absolutely fine."

"Nothing major happening?"

"Nope," Aria emphasized on the 'p', making a loud _pop_ sound.

"The day before?"

"What is this, an interrogation room?"

"Spencer told me you had a panic attack the day before yesterday," he blurted out.

She _what_? Aria ran her hands through her hair restlessly, pondering on what exactly she was going to tell Jason. They'd promised on this whole honesty thing, and Aria seemed to not be doing so well on it – she hadn't dare told him about this new, freakier, scarier, toothier _A_.

"I'm sorry," was all she managed to think of saying. "I should have told you but… I wasn't even quite sure if you were doing okay… I just… you already had enough on your mind, and I didn't want you to worry."

Jason nodded slowly. "I get it. But are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? What happened? And why?"

"Yes, no, I was in the bathroom, I thought I saw…" Aria lowered her voice. "A, and I was scared."

"Oh, Aria," Jason said, frowning, before wrapping Aria in him.

"Please don't 'Oh, Aria' me," Aria whispered in the embrace.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. And with that, he lifted her chin up and kissed her.

* * *

The next day at school had been every bit as boring as it usually was – at least she had art in the afternoon. She trod through the corridors with Emily, who was rapidly reciting a few words for a test, not particularly bothered about anything.

In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a very familiar blonde. She looked young, and she was quite pretty, but had that same smug look any bitch had written on their faces – the very look Alison had. But this blonde, she wasn't Alison – this blonde, although she couldn't quite recall who, was older, looked more mature, and just was so _freaking_ familiar. This woman – she couldn't possibly a student… this woman still looked older than Jason.

It hit her – _Meredith Sorenson_. The same blonde skank her father had cheated on her mom with. _Meredith_. The reason half her childhood had been ruined. _Meredith_. The reason why she would never, never, _never_ trust her dad fully again.

 _Meredith_.

What the fuck was Meredith doing in _Rosewood High_? The last time she'd heard of her was almost a year before, when she'd been working alongside her mother, who at the time, was completely oblivious to the fact that this blonde bimbo had been making out with her husband, no, _ex-husband_ for goodness knew how long.

Aria mumbled a, "See you later, good luck for the test," to Emily, before running down to the Jason's office, which was almost on the other side of the school. She burst into his room, causing Jason to drop some of the files he had been holding.

"Ar, what a surprise!" Jason smiled, bending down to pick the files up. "One, two, three, four… damn it, I must have dropped some… Anyway, Aria, what brings you here? Classes start… in about-"

"She's back!" Aria heaved, clutching onto the table. "She's back and she's going to ruin my life again! Just like before! She's going to ruin my mom's, Mike's, Jesus, my _dad's_."

"Um, who are we talking about?" Jason asked, as he placed the files on his desk.

" _Stupid_ , _fucking_ _Meredith_!" she exclaimed, almost hysterically. "She's back – in school, and she's – _aghhh_!"

"You're talking about Miss Sorenson, aren't you?" Jason asked. When she nodded, he carried on. "Tamborelli hasn't offered her the job yet, he says, 'The younger ones always seem to cause problems', so don't worry, she may not get the job," he paused. "But if anything, she's better than Fitz… what's so bad about her?" Jason stopped and realized what she was talking about. "God, Aria, I would never, _never_ cheat-"

"I know you wouldn't, but I wasn't talking about that," Aria said. "I guess I never told you directly… Meredith… she… my dad…"

Realization struck him. "Oh, oh, she's the one who…" Jason stopped himself, knowing it would be tactless to carry on talking about the affair.

"Yes! She's the fucking monster who ruined our family, ruined me, ruined Mike, ruined Mom… ruined _everything_! And she's back, just to shove in our faces she's so freaking happy and rich and lucky and slutty and whorey and…"

"And calm down," Jason said, gently getting hold of her shoulders. "Meredith is in the past. She is a bitch, and I can see that. She doesn't deserve to be-"

Whatever he said melted away, because the door had opened and someone had come in (Aria was glad beyond belief that it had been _her mother_ and not any other teacher).

"Ah, Jason, you're here," Ella smiled. "And Aria! Hey, darling. Jason, you dropped one or two of these," Ella handed him the files and he placed them on the table, thanking her. "Well, I'll leave you two to it!"

When she had gone, Aria burst out – " _Mom_! She _doesn't know_! What is she going to do when she finds out? God, she freaked out the first time, and even the divorce was difficult and it's… _eugh_ …"

Everything else she was going to say was drowned by the ringing bell, and she sighed, turning around.

"Sorry… I just… I overreacted…" Aria mumbled, nibbling on her lip. "I just always have that urge to just… _strangle her_ …"

"Not another murder mystery, please," Jason said, wincing at his own words. "Remember, I love you, okay?"

"Okay," Aria mumbled. "I love you, too." And god damn was she was glad she did as much as he did.

She walked out, a small smile on her face, and realized that Hanna, Spencer and Emily were waiting outside Jason's office.

"We figured you were here," Hanna said.

"We saw her too." Spencer mumbled, nodding in Meredith's direction.

"Oh," was all Aria managed to say. She walked to her locker, with the girls trailing behind her, and jumped when she realized something had dropped out of it. It was in a small brown envelope, and curious, she opened it. A tiny pearl drop earring with a pink gem was in it, and it felt cool on her fingers, as if it was almost new. And it was one earring in more than a trillion, but _something_ about it felt familiar – just like Meredith the Skank – _familiar_.

And like before, it hit her.

* * *

 _"No way, Ali," Aria shook her head fervently._

 _"You_ just _agreed!"_

 _"I agreed to come here with you because you said you needed to meet someone – I did_ not _to trash my freaking dad's own office!" Aria exclaimed._

 _Ali just tutted and rolled her eyes. "That old man? He cheated on your mom with a woman half his age! Gross."_

 _"He said Meredith's history – and I trust my dad."_

 _"Oh please," Alison scoffed. "They probably do it on that couch" Ali pointed over to the red couch which was propped against the far right wall. "daily!"_

 _Aria was still defiant as ever, and shook her head. "I said, I trust my dad, and I know he made a stupid mistake, but I know that it's never going to happen again, okay?"_

 _"Oh, of course," Ali rolled her eyes and walked to the very couch. She shoved her hand under the cushion and after moving her hand around a bit, her face lit up with a mischievous smirk. "Then what's_ this _? Maybe another of your dad's_ buddy-buddy _students? Or maybe your dad was having another cozy tutoring session…"_

 _And suddenly, although little by little, anger poured into her, filling every fibre of her being: Aria hated her dad. She hated him so much it was almost impossible. And just like Alison had suggested, she got the chair and threw it across the room, causing not only the pole but books and cushions to tumble down. She got out her lipstick and crossed his face out of their family picture – this man, this man was_ not _her dad._

* * *

Aria blinked out of it, and realized she'd been clutching the single earring so hard it had made a dent in her palm. And the anger came back and she felt the urge to stomp her heel under it a million and one times.

There was a reason why there was only one earring, and it was because Aria had given the other to be placed in Alison's coffin as a keepsake – but now Ali's grave had been dug up, and body had been stolen… Jesus, this was doing her head in.

"I'm going to ditch. Can you guys cover for me?" Aria asked weakly.

"Sure," Emily nodded, still reciting words and sentences.

With that, Aria ran – she ran past her friends, Jason's office, her mom's classroom, the stupid classroom itself and just past all the mess with A, all the mess with Meredith and her dad and her mom.

* * *

 **Daddy needs to know. Or I let the other one go.** **  
** **To the police. 'Night night.** **  
** _ **—**_ **A**

Aria stared at the new A message, reading and rereading it about a hundred times. _Daddy needs to know_. How was she going to tell her father? She was pretty sure he'd throw a fit, or judging by his previous actions, probably call the cops on her.

"Aria? You said you wanted me to drive you," her father said from the door.

"Er, I'm okay now." Aria said.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yes, I think I can walk," Aria said. "And anyway, I was only going to help Emily prepare for her test…"

"Aria, what's wrong?" Byron came in, causing Aria to take a few steps backwards. "I can see something's bothering you… what is it?" _Well, first of all, the same person who tried to kill us all is back – and is scarier, stronger and deadlier. And secondly the woman who destroyed our family is freaking_ back.

"I was the one who trashed your office." Aria said quietly.

Her father went into a total of three emotions – and they were each equally frightening. Aria made for the door, but Byron's stern voice filled the room – " _What_?"

"It was me… and Ali, technically… who trashed your office." she repeated, still monotone.

"You did _what_?" Byron growled – and it scared her so much, she shrunk down, shielding her hands from him. Byron's face softened, but all the same he seemed angry. "Aria… I'm sorry but… but this is serious – I almost called the police, I thought it was some robbery… you know, I thought it was _Meredith_! I completely lost contact with her, and blamed her, and was just so _angry_ with her! I threatened her… I almost got her arrested! And she didn't even do it!"

"You know, I don't get much point of you arguing with me and getting angry with me, if it was _your_ fault in the first place," Aria crossed her arms.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked.

"If you hadn't gone and cheated on my mom with… with… _her_ , then _none of this_ would have happened! You can't blame this on Mona, Dad, for being the messenger – if _you_ hadn't done it, _I_ wouldn't have either!" Aria gasped with breath – she herself was surprised, surprised that she had ever considered on saying those words to her father, but now they were out, and she was glad they were out. They had been bubbling up inside of her since she had pink in her hair.

Byron looked guilty, and he turned away. "You still need to apologize to her," he mumbled in a hoarse voice.

Aria paused at the door – _you still need to apologize to her_. To Meredith? What was the need of that? _Meredith_ should be the one to be apologizing – to her, to her mom…

"Fine," Aria grumbled as she left her bedroom.

* * *

It had been almost two days and she _still_ hadn't talked to Meredith in private – although, really, she _still_ hadn't found a solid reason to, apart from her father's demands.

Almost as soon as she stepped foot into the building, she'd been pulled into the bathroom by Hanna, and she saw the other girls waiting for her. Spencer seemed confused and angry (although that was usually how she seemed), Emily seemed completely distraught as well dazed – and Hanna, she couldn't quite make it out.

"Okay, good, you're here, we were waiting for Hanna to tell us," Spencer nodded.

"What is it now?" Aria asked weakly. "Spencer… is it something about Garrett? Emily… your test? Hanna… how is lying to… Caleb?" Aria shot guesses, only causing them to get louder.

"No, no and he knows," Hanna said. "But we're drifting away from the point – Mona… she didn't talk much, but… she talked."

"No way, what did she say?" exclaimed Aria.

"'You're getting them again, aren't you? The texts.'" Hanna mumbled, mimicking Mona's heavily deadpan voice.

"Okay, you need to go back to Radley and make her explain what the hell she meant by that!" said Spencer.

"Seconded," Emily nodded.

"Well, it's not that _simple_ , because Mona won't even freaking _look_ at me most of the time!" Hanna groaned. "Look… can we _please_ talk about something else… I, um… the earring! Aria, have you talked to Meredith?"

"Not yet," sighed Aria. "but I think I'll go tomorrow. I sort of have to. Dad already thinks I have."

Emily suddenly grabbed onto Aria, before letting go and blinking rapidly.

"Em, you alright?" Aria asked, concerned.

"I remembered something," Emily murmured. "From that night."

"Are you sure?" asked Hanna.

"Yeah, I mean, when we picked you up, you kept calling me Arlene!" Aria said. "And you were pretty wasted…"

"No… I'm positive I remember," Emily nodded. "Jenna was the one who drove me."

"Emily, Jenna's blind." Aria noted.

"I found eye drops," Spencer suddenly spoke up. "And there were two bottles, one was from April, but there was another one, which was renewed recently. If her eyesight hadn't got better, why would she have them?"

They left the bathroom confused, dazed and worried – first with Mona, and Meredith, and now with freaking Jenna Marshall too? She couldn't _possibly_ be able to see, could she? But then again, her getting 'blinder' by the minute had been a little fishy. As they turned the corner, they saw none other than Jenna walking towards the bathroom, once again blinder than usual. The girls knew what to do, and they poured back into the bathroom, each hiding in one of the cubicles. Aria placed the earring by the sink.

Jenna had entered, and placed her bag on the sink. From the bag, she produced her makeup bag, and she applied her lipstick, as perfectly and as in place as any non-blind person would. They waited for her to notice the earring, which ultimately, she did. Jenna took off her glasses, peering carefully at the earring, also like any non-blind person, and she placed it back where it was, leaving.

Jenna Marshall was not blind.

They burst out the cubicles in a flurry of shock and anger – from Hanna, Aria and Emily especially.

"She can freaking _see_!"

"You know what, let's go, we need to go… _now_!"

" _Stop_!" Spencer's voice overcame the others.

"Why? I'm ready to hang a sign – _bitch can see_!" Aria exclaimed.

"I said, _stop_!" Spencer repeated. "I'm every bit as angry as you guys are. But we need to do this the _right_ way. Jenna can see? Well – we can use it _against_ her."

* * *

 **That ran through most of 3x02 hehe… I'm sorry if my American spellings slip during it all – I'm British so I still found it strange to write 'Mom' instead of 'Mum' lol. Anyway, I'm really, really excited to be going through 3x04… :)**

 **ALSO – IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE TODAYY (in the UK):)) so an early Merry Christmas to y'all!**


	17. Overreacting

**_Jaria24_** **: If you are talking about the Halloween train then… *wink wink* *nudge nudge***

* * *

 **overreacting**

* * *

 _now all this time is passing by  
_ _but i still can't seem to tell you why  
it hurts me every time i see you  
i realise how much i need you  
_ _ **— gnash**_ _  
_

* * *

"I still can't believe that _bitch_ kept it a secret for five freaking months," Hanna shook her head in disbelief as she and the rest of the liars watch Jenna stumble and fall, wearing her black glasses and holding her stick, which were only supposed to be suitable for _blind_ people, which Jenna was not. "We should push a table in front of her and see what happens."

"Hanna, you have all the subtlety as a hand grenade." Spencer rolled her eyes at the statement.

"I still can't believe I have to apologise to Meredith," Aria muttered under her breath, her fingers curling around the single earring in her pocket.

"Well, _I_ still can't believe-"

Whatever Emily was going to say was droned out by the vice principal's screaming. None other than Lucas Gottesman scurried out of his office, carrying a letter, a hood covering most of his face.

"Lucas?" Hanna exclaimed. "I'll catch up with you guys later." Hanna said as she left the girls to talk to him.

The remaining liars kept their gaze on Jenna, who had now taken a seat on the wall, readjusting her huge, and if they dared say, _fake_ glasses.

"Aria, you need to find out what she is up to." Spencer said suddenly.

" _What_?!" Aria exclaimed, turning to look incredulously at her best friend.

"Jenna," Spencer gestured towards her. "She is in need of an accompanist. And as of previous events, I think she trusts you."

"Agreed." nodded Emily.

"Just because I'm the musical one," Aria groaned. "So I'm supposed to go practise with her almost every day after school when she could very possibly be A? Or at least, the Black Swan?"

"Please let's not go on to that!" exclaimed Emily.

"Eventually, we have to, Em." Spencer said lightly. "Now you can go tell Jenna and her kingdom of blind that you'll perform with her in assembly."

"Although I am very against this idea," groaned Aria "because you are my best friend, and I want to know the truth as much as you do, I will agree to this terrible plan."

"You're the best, you know." beamed Spencer.

"Not only do I have to put up with Skank Number One, there's Skank Number Two. And both equally horrifying." Aria cursed. "Damn it! I need to see Meredith!" And boy was she looking forward to it.

* * *

Aria had asked (in what was her… _politest_ voice) if she could meet Meredith somewhere in private after school. Meredith wanted to go the Brew, but Aria wanted to go somewhere more private, but she wouldn't have it, and refraining from wringing her neck, in her highest and most believable voice, she agreed to do so.

As she walked into the restaurant, she saw Meredith sipping her coffee at one of the tables, and Aria had half a mind to spill that wretched coffee all over her wretched outfit. _Why_ was she apologizing to a woman who ruined her parents' marriage? Oh yeah, because she trashed her father's office, and he had thought it was Meredith, and all that stupidity and nonsense. This – it really wasn't worthwhile anything.

"Miss Sorenson." Aria mumbled as she approached the stupid blonde bimbo.

"Hello, Aria," Meredith said. "And sweetie, why don't you call me by my first name?"

"I… okay… Meredith…" Aria kept on her fakest smile, hoping to have fooled her.

"What do you need from me?"

 _To stay away from my family_ , she shouted in her head. "I don't need anything from you. I just wanted to apologize."

"Whatever for?" Meredith raised her eyebrows, in a most innocent manner, which seriously made Aria consider shoving that spoon she was holding up her nose.

"For… for a lot of things." Aria admitted. (Although really, she wasn't really admitting, because was she sorry in the slightest? She wasn't then, she wasn't now, and she wouldn't ever.)

"And those things are…?"

"My dad blamed you, a long time ago, for trashing his office, didn't he?" Aria started. _Slow and steady, slow and steady_. "I'm not quite sure if you remember, but…"

"Oh, I remember all right." Meredith face contorted with disgust, and she crossed her arms, staring Aria down. "I remember it like it was yesterday." And even in that sweet, sickly voice of hers, there was something about the tone which seemed dangerous, and Aria shuffled her chair back only a little bit.

"Well…" Aria murmured. "I know that my dad cut you off after it, thinking it was you, although, really, it wasn't." she took a pause. "It was me."

A smirk played on Meredith's lips and she sipped her coffee once more. She turned to Aria, staring deep into her eyes, and this – this really made her feel uneasy. "Tell your father that I'll be meeting him at twelve sharp tomorrow. Oh, you know, for lunch."

Anger reached Aria again, and from her pocket she produced the single earring, and threw it down in front of her. "I believe this belongs to you."

Meredith paused for a moment, before picking it up and examining it. Seconds later, she dropped it back on the table, and turned back to Aria. "These earrings aren't mine. Now, I really must be going. Remember to pass Byron on the message!"

Aria gritted her teeth, bringing the earring back into the palm – now – now she was fuming with anger and wanted to hurl the plate in front of her at Meredith's perfect little face and _ruin_ her. "Oh, I will, Meredith. Just you wait."

Knowing she would probably burst into flames if she went back home to face her father, Aria winded down at Jason's doorstep, and realizing that the door wasn't locked, she bust in. As soon as she saw Jason at the table, reading, Aria opened her mouth.

"You know, I am sick _to death_ of that woman. I mean, she thinks she's so beautiful, batting her eyelashes at every frigging person she sees – hey, I even saw her do that to _Tamborelli_ – but anyway, she's a bitch, a bimbo, and I just… _eugh_! I just want to yank her by the hair and shove her down the stupid toilet, because that's where she deserves to go," Aria paused, taking a breath, ignoring Jason's alarmed look. Aria opened the drawer and got out a pair of scissors, snatching Jason's newspaper and cutting it roughly into pieces. "She is just… _insane_. I come and apologize to her – although frankly, there was no reason to – and then she goes, 'Oh Aria, sweetie, pass on the message to Byron-boo for our romantic date tomorrow.'"

"Ar, are you-"

"And I was just _so damn tempted_ to punch her deformed face and kick her flying to Australia, because I can't _stand_ …" Aria looked around. She shoved the pieces of newspaper into the blender, opening the fridge in the process. "Do you have milk? No…? Oh, screw stupid milk, I'll use yoghurt."

"Okay, Aria, _calm_ -"

"I want to _murder_ that no-neck bitch, and because stabbing will be way too messy, I'll…" Aria pressed the button on the blender, and it started spluttering. "Oops! My bad."

" _Aria_ -"

"I'm sure Meredith will be more than grateful…" Aria picked the blender up, heading towards the door. "Thank you, and – _aghhh_!"

Jason lifted Aria up, a look of amusement upon his face. "Okay, now _calm yourself down_."

"I sort of overreacted, didn't I?" Aria said quietly.

"'Overreacted' being the operative word." he laughed.

"Your door was open," Aria noted. "Which is dangerous, because who knows who could come in here and steal anything? Even if it for an emergency, it's _dangerous_ , and you wouldn't like a robbery and – and I'm rambling…"

Jason grinned. "Stealing my blender, yoghurt and newspaper is definitely an emergency."

"I just… I'm sorry." Aria said. "Meredith got on my nerves, and I agreed to accompany Jenna with her flute and I just got worked up. And did I mention something about my nerves?"

"Once or twice or fifteen times," Jason smiled, and he leaned down to kiss her, one hard in her hair, and the other wrapped loosely against her hip. "So… you're playing the piano for Jenna Marshall?"

"Yep, and… I'm definitely _not_ looking forward to it." Aria shivered as she recalled the events of the day before, when they realized that the blind girl was… not so blind. But goodness knew what would happen if she told Jason that.

"Why not?"

"We just… she scares us…" It wasn't even a lie – Jenna Marshall was scary enough when she was blind, but now she could see…

"She's just a harmless, blind girl." chuckled Jason.

Aria was tempted to add in, _was_ , but she shut her mouth and only nodded. "You're right… I'm being really paranoid about this all." Aria got herself lost in Jason's eyes, until her phone buzzed from inside her pocket, in which she flipped it open and checked the text.

 **Can you come over?  
** _ **—**_ **Em**

Hastily, she replied:

 **Sure. I'll be there in fifteen.  
** _ **—**_ **Aria**

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, after she looked up from her phone.

"Yeah," Aria nodded. "but Emily wants to tell me something. I'll call you later, 'kay?" Jason nodded and Aria gave him a quick goodbye kiss, before leaving the house. Jason and Emily's house were only several roads apart, and so it took her less than ten minutes to walk there.

"Aria, good, you're here." Emily smiled weakly when she answered the door, to see her best friend standing at the doorstep. She brought her in and immediately pulled her upstairs to her room.

" _Sooo_ … what did you need?" Aria asked curiously.

Emily seemed not at all herself, pacing up and down her room, with a look that screamed _what the hell am I going to do?!_ etched on her face. She didn't stop pacing, instead, she mumbled, "I got an A on my test!"

Aria broke into a huge smile, throwing a warm hug at her best friend. "That's – that's _brilliant_! I knew the extra revision would pay off in the end." She noticed that Emily was not smiling. "Emily… what's wrong?"

"I didn't complete the test," she said in a small voice. "And there is no way I would have gotten an A. If I got everything correct in the first half, the highest I would've got was a B minus."

"Em…"

"I think your mum completed the test for me," she said admittedly, not meeting Aria's eyes.

"I… oh…" Aria wasn't quite sure how to react to that – her mom had completed Emily's test? Although maybe Emily was just imagining and misinterpreting, but if she was being honest, it was something Ella would do. "Are you… are you sure?"

"I got my results back earlier today, and I asked your mom," she said. "And she told me that my test was completed and my grade was 'accurate'. But I didn't bloody complete it, because I didn't know the bloody answers to the bloody questions in the bloody test!"

"Em, calm down!" It was ironic, as Aria was the one who needed to do so only ten or so minutes before, but she didn't want Emily to get in a state that she'd be feeding her mom newspaper smoothies. "My mom… she was probably just…"

"Feeling sorry for me." Emily finished.

"No, being _motherly_ ," Aria rolled her eyes. "She's known you for years, and looks at you like you're her daughter. And then there's Maya-"

"So she feels sorry for me," Emily groaned, collapsing onto her bed. "I am so _sick_ of people looking at me like I'm some lost puppy because of what happened with Maya."

"Hey, at least we know it's not A," offered Aria, at any thoughts of lifting Emily's mood.

"Oh yeah, how can I forget?" Emily groaned. "It's like one big, stupid game, a five month ad, then a _level up_ , _oh_ , _what fun_!"

"Em…" Aria pressed. "My mom would have done it for Hanna and Spencer too. It wasn't just because she felt bad for you."

Emily just tutted and buried her face in her pillow.

* * *

As she walked into school the following day, she couldn't help but feel worried – her mom, if she really completed Emily's test… god, she hoped she didn't get sacked, on top of a lot of other things.

And it wasn't just _that_ she was dreadfully worried about, for there was after school, too, where she'd be meeting up with Jenna, at _her house_ , where she was expected to snoop around and produce information. And now Jenna was no longer blind (although her glasses and stick concealed that fact) that scared her more than it ever had. She rounded the corner, catching sight of the very girl she was talking about, and gulping, ran back to the cafeteria to grab Hanna, Spencer and Emily.

"Ari-"

" _She's_ there," Aria admitted. "And I'm scared. So can you wait with me in Jason's office?" She implied it as more of a question than a statement, because as they were early and the halls were empty, she didn't want to wait alone with Jenna Marshall roaming the school.

As they waited on the couch, Aria couldn't help but notice that Spencer seemed a little uneasy and unsure of herself, as if there was something she was itching to say. But before she could even question what was going on, the door swung open, and they were met by a very bewildered Jason DiLaurentis.

Eyeing the four girls, he started with a, "Hey…", drawing his words out slowly, showcasing his evident confusion.

The liars replied in barely audible voices – _god, this was awkward._

"Okay, I feel like something happened…" Realization made Jason stand up straighter, and sincerely, he looked down at his girlfriend, who seemed to be in a world of her own. "Aria, you didn't give her that newspaper… junk… did you?"

"What?" she spluttered. " _No_!"

Jason laughed. "Okay, okay…"

"I just…" Aria turned to her friends and ushered them out. "Thank you and goodbye!"

When her friends left, Jason raised an eyebrow. "So, what was that all about?"

All the worries and paranoia in her she wanted to rid, so she turned to Jason, muttering, "I need you to distract me."

"Okay…"

"Kiss me, please."

Jason laughed again, but lifted her chin up and cupped her face all the same. How long the kiss lasted neither of them knew, but the bell suddenly rang, causing them to have to part.

"Will I be seeing you later on?" Aria whispered seductively, ruffling his hair.

"Hm… possibly…" Jason mumbled, stealing one last kiss. "And don't worry about that Jenna girl."

"'Kay." Aria nodded, and she left the office. "'Love you!"

"'Love you, too!" he returned.

Aria walked down the halls again, clutching hard onto her bag. She wondered what practising with Jenna would be like, especially now that she was not blind. She also wondered about what Jenna's reaction would be if she found out that Aria, Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Ali were the ones who made her lose her sight in the first place. And then, obviously, she started wondering if Jenna was the Black Swan, and therefore the new A.

That made her shiver – practising with _A_. And especially as this new A seemed to be twice as strong as deadly.

"Aria!"

"Wh-what?"

Jenna Marshall was smiling straight at her, holding onto her stick. "It's good to see you! You're coming to my house after school for practice, right?"

"Uh, yeah." she replied in what she hoped was an enthusiastic voice.

"That's great!" Jenna beamed. And to Aria's much surprise, she moved towards her, and _linked_ arms with her. "So, what's your first lesson?"

"Biology with Mr Banks," Aria said. "You?"

"Calcalus…" Jenna groaned. "Don't you just _hate_ school! In my old school, no one really did much work, and although we didn't learn anything, it wasn't as _boring_. But the teachers weren't old and grumpy like Mr Banks and Mr Burns."

Aria somehow knew that she was talking about her school for the blind and hearing impaired, and so she decided it would be tactless to talk about such a touchy subject – until she remembered that Jenna was neither _blind_ nor deaf.

"Are you talking about that school in Philadelphia?"

Jenna nodded sadly. "Being blind sucks."

 _If you're actually blind, then yeah,_ a voice in Aria's head. She desperately wanted to point it out, but if this… plan was going to work, she'd need to follow rules, and confronting her first thing wasn't on the list.

"I'll see you later!" Jenna called as she un-linked arms with Aria to walk off to her next lesson. Aria nodded, a fake smile on her face, and she too walked to Biology.

* * *

"Do you want to take five?" Jenna asked.

"Um… sure." Aria shrugged. Practising with Jenna – it had been bearable. Awkward, but bearable. And so far, she hadn't got any fishy information about her, which did nothing but kill her mood.

"So…" Jenna started.

"So…" Aria echoed, unsure what to do or say.

"So how's Emily?" Jenna said with a soft expression on her face. "When I hear her, she sounds strong, but, um, it's hard to tell when you can't see her face."

 _Filthy liar_. "She's… fine…" said Aria firmly. "Like you said, she's strong."

"But the heart can only take so much," Jenna sighed, placing her flute down beside her. "I guess that's what happened to Mona – it went to her mind."

"Mhm."

"Such tragedy for such a small town – especially with Alison's body gone…" Jenna sighed again.

Alarmingly, she looked up. "Yeah…"

"Have you heard anything about it? Who dug it up?" Jenna asked.

"No…" she said.

"When did you guys find out about it?"

"Next day." Aria lied, although she was not really interested, because in the corner of her eye, she had just caught sight on a small post-it note. She couldn't really make out the writing as she was too far away, but if she could just edge a little closer…

Obviously she couldn't, because Jenna was in her way.

"Stay here, I'm just going to check something." Jenna smiled at her and left the room, giving Aria the full opportunity to take a better look at the note.

 **H. COBB, 4:15, WED, EARPLUGS**

* * *

 **Quite short, but meh:)**


	18. Your Best Shot

**_Jaria24_** **: If you are talking about the Halloween train then… *wink wink* *nudge nudge***

* * *

 **overreacting**

* * *

 _now all this time is passing by  
_ _but i still can't seem to tell you why  
it hurts me every time i see you  
i realise how much i need you  
_ _ **— gnash**_ _  
_

* * *

"I still can't believe that _bitch_ kept it a secret for five freaking months," Hanna shook her head in disbelief as she and the rest of the liars watch Jenna stumble and fall, wearing her black glasses and holding her stick, which were only supposed to be suitable for _blind_ people, which Jenna was not. "We should push a table in front of her and see what happens."

"Hanna, you have all the subtlety as a hand grenade." Spencer rolled her eyes at the statement.

"I still can't believe I have to apologise to Meredith," Aria muttered under her breath, her fingers curling around the single earring in her pocket.

"Well, _I_ still can't believe-"

Whatever Emily was going to say was droned out by the vice principal's screaming. None other than Lucas Gottesman scurried out of his office, carrying a letter, a hood covering most of his face.

"Lucas?" Hanna exclaimed. "I'll catch up with you guys later." Hanna said as she left the girls to talk to him.

The remaining liars kept their gaze on Jenna, who had now taken a seat on the wall, readjusting her huge, and if they dared say, _fake_ glasses.

"Aria, you need to find out what she is up to." Spencer said suddenly.

" _What_?!" Aria exclaimed, turning to look incredulously at her best friend.

"Jenna," Spencer gestured towards her. "She is in need of an accompanist. And as of previous events, I think she trusts you."

"Agreed." nodded Emily.

"Just because I'm the musical one," Aria groaned. "So I'm supposed to go practise with her almost every day after school when she could very possibly be A? Or at least, the Black Swan?"

"Please let's not go on to that!" exclaimed Emily.

"Eventually, we have to, Em." Spencer said lightly. "Now you can go tell Jenna and her kingdom of blind that you'll perform with her in assembly."

"Although I am very against this idea," groaned Aria "because you are my best friend, and I want to know the truth as much as you do, I will agree to this terrible plan."

"You're the best, you know." beamed Spencer.

"Not only do I have to put up with Skank Number One, there's Skank Number Two. And both equally horrifying." Aria cursed. "Damn it! I need to see Meredith!" And boy was she looking forward to it.

* * *

Aria had asked (in what was her… _politest_ voice) if she could meet Meredith somewhere in private after school. Meredith wanted to go the Brew, but Aria wanted to go somewhere more private, but she wouldn't have it, and refraining from wringing her neck, in her highest and most believable voice, she agreed to do so.

As she walked into the restaurant, she saw Meredith sipping her coffee at one of the tables, and Aria had half a mind to spill that wretched coffee all over her wretched outfit. _Why_ was she apologizing to a woman who ruined her parents' marriage? Oh yeah, because she trashed her father's office, and he had thought it was Meredith, and all that stupidity and nonsense. This – it really wasn't worthwhile anything.

"Miss Sorenson." Aria mumbled as she approached the stupid blonde bimbo.

"Hello, Aria," Meredith said. "And sweetie, why don't you call me by my first name?"

"I… okay… Meredith…" Aria kept on her fakest smile, hoping to have fooled her.

"What do you need from me?"

 _To stay away from my family_ , she shouted in her head. "I don't need anything from you. I just wanted to apologize."

"Whatever for?" Meredith raised her eyebrows, in a most innocent manner, which seriously made Aria consider shoving that spoon she was holding up her nose.

"For… for a lot of things." Aria admitted. (Although really, she wasn't really admitting, because was she sorry in the slightest? She wasn't then, she wasn't now, and she wouldn't ever.)

"And those things are…?"

"My dad blamed you, a long time ago, for trashing his office, didn't he?" Aria started. _Slow and steady, slow and steady_. "I'm not quite sure if you remember, but…"

"Oh, I remember all right." Meredith face contorted with disgust, and she crossed her arms, staring Aria down. "I remember it like it was yesterday." And even in that sweet, sickly voice of hers, there was something about the tone which seemed dangerous, and Aria shuffled her chair back only a little bit.

"Well…" Aria murmured. "I know that my dad cut you off after it, thinking it was you, although, really, it wasn't." she took a pause. "It was me."

A smirk played on Meredith's lips and she sipped her coffee once more. She turned to Aria, staring deep into her eyes, and this – this really made her feel uneasy. "Tell your father that I'll be meeting him at twelve sharp tomorrow. Oh, you know, for lunch."

Anger reached Aria again, and from her pocket she produced the single earring, and threw it down in front of her. "I believe this belongs to you."

Meredith paused for a moment, before picking it up and examining it. Seconds later, she dropped it back on the table, and turned back to Aria. "These earrings aren't mine. Now, I really must be going. Remember to pass Byron on the message!"

Aria gritted her teeth, bringing the earring back into the palm – now – now she was fuming with anger and wanted to hurl the plate in front of her at Meredith's perfect little face and _ruin_ her. "Oh, I will, Meredith. Just you wait."

Knowing she would probably burst into flames if she went back home to face her father, Aria winded down at Jason's doorstep, and realizing that the door wasn't locked, she bust in. As soon as she saw Jason at the table, reading, Aria opened her mouth.

"You know, I am sick _to death_ of that woman. I mean, she thinks she's so beautiful, batting her eyelashes at every frigging person she sees – hey, I even saw her do that to _Tamborelli_ – but anyway, she's a bitch, a bimbo, and I just… _eugh_! I just want to yank her by the hair and shove her down the stupid toilet, because that's where she deserves to go," Aria paused, taking a breath, ignoring Jason's alarmed look. Aria opened the drawer and got out a pair of scissors, snatching Jason's newspaper and cutting it roughly into pieces. "She is just… _insane_. I come and apologize to her – although frankly, there was no reason to – and then she goes, 'Oh Aria, sweetie, pass on the message to Byron-boo for our romantic date tomorrow.'"

"Ar, are you-"

"And I was just _so damn tempted_ to punch her deformed face and kick her flying to Australia, because I can't _stand_ …" Aria looked around. She shoved the pieces of newspaper into the blender, opening the fridge in the process. "Do you have milk? No…? Oh, screw stupid milk, I'll use yoghurt."

"Okay, Aria, _calm_ -"

"I want to _murder_ that no-neck bitch, and because stabbing will be way too messy, I'll…" Aria pressed the button on the blender, and it started spluttering. "Oops! My bad."

" _Aria_ -"

"I'm sure Meredith will be more than grateful…" Aria picked the blender up, heading towards the door. "Thank you, and – _aghhh_!"

Jason lifted Aria up, a look of amusement upon his face. "Okay, now _calm yourself down_."

"I sort of overreacted, didn't I?" Aria said quietly.

"'Overreacted' being the operative word." he laughed.

"Your door was open," Aria noted. "Which is dangerous, because who knows who could come in here and steal anything? Even if it for an emergency, it's _dangerous_ , and you wouldn't like a robbery and – and I'm rambling…"

Jason grinned. "Stealing my blender, yoghurt and newspaper is definitely an emergency."

"I just… I'm sorry." Aria said. "Meredith got on my nerves, and I agreed to accompany Jenna with her flute and I just got worked up. And did I mention something about my nerves?"

"Once or twice or fifteen times," Jason smiled, and he leaned down to kiss her, one hard in her hair, and the other wrapped loosely against her hip. "So… you're playing the piano for Jenna Marshall?"

"Yep, and… I'm definitely _not_ looking forward to it." Aria shivered as she recalled the events of the day before, when they realized that the blind girl was… not so blind. But goodness knew what would happen if she told Jason that.

"Why not?"

"We just… she scares us…" It wasn't even a lie – Jenna Marshall was scary enough when she was blind, but now she could see…

"She's just a harmless, blind girl." chuckled Jason.

Aria was tempted to add in, _was_ , but she shut her mouth and only nodded. "You're right… I'm being really paranoid about this all." Aria got herself lost in Jason's eyes, until her phone buzzed from inside her pocket, in which she flipped it open and checked the text.

 **Can you come over?  
** _ **—**_ **Em**

Hastily, she replied:

 **Sure. I'll be there in fifteen.  
** _ **—**_ **Aria**

"Everything okay?" Jason asked, after she looked up from her phone.

"Yeah," Aria nodded. "but Emily wants to tell me something. I'll call you later, 'kay?" Jason nodded and Aria gave him a quick goodbye kiss, before leaving the house. Jason and Emily's house were only several roads apart, and so it took her less than ten minutes to walk there.

"Aria, good, you're here." Emily smiled weakly when she answered the door, to see her best friend standing at the doorstep. She brought her in and immediately pulled her upstairs to her room.

" _Sooo_ … what did you need?" Aria asked curiously.

Emily seemed not at all herself, pacing up and down her room, with a look that screamed _what the hell am I going to do?!_ etched on her face. She didn't stop pacing, instead, she mumbled, "I got an A on my test!"

Aria broke into a huge smile, throwing a warm hug at her best friend. "That's – that's _brilliant_! I knew the extra revision would pay off in the end." She noticed that Emily was not smiling. "Emily… what's wrong?"

"I didn't complete the test," she said in a small voice. "And there is no way I would have gotten an A. If I got everything correct in the first half, the highest I would've got was a B minus."

"Em…"

"I think your mum completed the test for me," she said admittedly, not meeting Aria's eyes.

"I… oh…" Aria wasn't quite sure how to react to that – her mom had completed Emily's test? Although maybe Emily was just imagining and misinterpreting, but if she was being honest, it was something Ella would do. "Are you… are you sure?"

"I got my results back earlier today, and I asked your mom," she said. "And she told me that my test was completed and my grade was 'accurate'. But I didn't bloody complete it, because I didn't know the bloody answers to the bloody questions in the bloody test!"

"Em, calm down!" It was ironic, as Aria was the one who needed to do so only ten or so minutes before, but she didn't want Emily to get in a state that she'd be feeding her mom newspaper smoothies. "My mom… she was probably just…"

"Feeling sorry for me." Emily finished.

"No, being _motherly_ ," Aria rolled her eyes. "She's known you for years, and looks at you like you're her daughter. And then there's Maya-"

"So she feels sorry for me," Emily groaned, collapsing onto her bed. "I am so _sick_ of people looking at me like I'm some lost puppy because of what happened with Maya."

"Hey, at least we know it's not A," offered Aria, at any thoughts of lifting Emily's mood.

"Oh yeah, how can I forget?" Emily groaned. "It's like one big, stupid game, a five month ad, then a _level up_ , _oh_ , _what fun_!"

"Em…" Aria pressed. "My mom would have done it for Hanna and Spencer too. It wasn't just because she felt bad for you."

Emily just tutted and buried her face in her pillow.

* * *

As she walked into school the following day, she couldn't help but feel worried – her mom, if she really completed Emily's test… god, she hoped she didn't get sacked, on top of a lot of other things.

And it wasn't just _that_ she was dreadfully worried about, for there was after school, too, where she'd be meeting up with Jenna, at _her house_ , where she was expected to snoop around and produce information. And now Jenna was no longer blind (although her glasses and stick concealed that fact) that scared her more than it ever had. She rounded the corner, catching sight of the very girl she was talking about, and gulping, ran back to the cafeteria to grab Hanna, Spencer and Emily.

"Ari-"

" _She's_ there," Aria admitted. "And I'm scared. So can you wait with me in Jason's office?" She implied it as more of a question than a statement, because as they were early and the halls were empty, she didn't want to wait alone with Jenna Marshall roaming the school.

As they waited on the couch, Aria couldn't help but notice that Spencer seemed a little uneasy and unsure of herself, as if there was something she was itching to say. But before she could even question what was going on, the door swung open, and they were met by a very bewildered Jason DiLaurentis.

Eyeing the four girls, he started with a, "Hey…", drawing his words out slowly, showcasing his evident confusion.

The liars replied in barely audible voices – _god, this was awkward._

"Okay, I feel like something happened…" Realization made Jason stand up straighter, and sincerely, he looked down at his girlfriend, who seemed to be in a world of her own. "Aria, you didn't give her that newspaper… junk… did you?"

"What?" she spluttered. " _No_!"

Jason laughed. "Okay, okay…"

"I just…" Aria turned to her friends and ushered them out. "Thank you and goodbye!"

When her friends left, Jason raised an eyebrow. "So, what was that all about?"

All the worries and paranoia in her she wanted to rid, so she turned to Jason, muttering, "I need you to distract me."

"Okay…"

"Kiss me, please."

Jason laughed again, but lifted her chin up and cupped her face all the same. How long the kiss lasted neither of them knew, but the bell suddenly rang, causing them to have to part.

"Will I be seeing you later on?" Aria whispered seductively, ruffling his hair.

"Hm… possibly…" Jason mumbled, stealing one last kiss. "And don't worry about that Jenna girl."

"'Kay." Aria nodded, and she left the office. "'Love you!"

"'Love you, too!" he returned.

Aria walked down the halls again, clutching hard onto her bag. She wondered what practising with Jenna would be like, especially now that she was not blind. She also wondered about what Jenna's reaction would be if she found out that Aria, Hanna, Emily, Spencer and Ali were the ones who made her lose her sight in the first place. And then, obviously, she started wondering if Jenna was the Black Swan, and therefore the new A.

That made her shiver – practising with _A_. And especially as this new A seemed to be twice as strong as deadly.

"Aria!"

"Wh-what?"

Jenna Marshall was smiling straight at her, holding onto her stick. "It's good to see you! You're coming to my house after school for practice, right?"

"Uh, yeah." she replied in what she hoped was an enthusiastic voice.

"That's great!" Jenna beamed. And to Aria's much surprise, she moved towards her, and _linked_ arms with her. "So, what's your first lesson?"

"Biology with Mr Banks," Aria said. "You?"

"Calcalus…" Jenna groaned. "Don't you just _hate_ school! In my old school, no one really did much work, and although we didn't learn anything, it wasn't as _boring_. But the teachers weren't old and grumpy like Mr Banks and Mr Burns."

Aria somehow knew that she was talking about her school for the blind and hearing impaired, and so she decided it would be tactless to talk about such a touchy subject – until she remembered that Jenna was neither _blind_ nor deaf.

"Are you talking about that school in Philadelphia?"

Jenna nodded sadly. "Being blind sucks."

 _If you're actually blind, then yeah,_ a voice in Aria's head. She desperately wanted to point it out, but if this… plan was going to work, she'd need to follow rules, and confronting her first thing wasn't on the list.

"I'll see you later!" Jenna called as she un-linked arms with Aria to walk off to her next lesson. Aria nodded, a fake smile on her face, and she too walked to Biology.

* * *

"Do you want to take five?" Jenna asked.

"Um… sure." Aria shrugged. Practising with Jenna – it had been bearable. Awkward, but bearable. And so far, she hadn't got any fishy information about her, which did nothing but kill her mood.

"So…" Jenna started.

"So…" Aria echoed, unsure what to do or say.

"So how's Emily?" Jenna said with a soft expression on her face. "When I hear her, she sounds strong, but, um, it's hard to tell when you can't see her face."

 _Filthy liar_. "She's… fine…" said Aria firmly. "Like you said, she's strong."

"But the heart can only take so much," Jenna sighed, placing her flute down beside her. "I guess that's what happened to Mona – it went to her mind."

"Mhm."

"Such tragedy for such a small town – especially with Alison's body gone…" Jenna sighed again.

Alarmingly, she looked up. "Yeah…"

"Have you heard anything about it? Who dug it up?" Jenna asked.

"No…" she said.

"When did you guys find out about it?"

"Next day." Aria lied, although she was not really interested, because in the corner of her eye, she had just caught sight on a small post-it note. She couldn't really make out the writing as she was too far away, but if she could just edge a little closer…

Obviously she couldn't, because Jenna was in her way.

"Stay here, I'm just going to check something." Jenna smiled at her and left the room, giving Aria the full opportunity to take a better look at the note.

 **H. COBB, 4:15, WED, EARPLUGS**

* * *

 **Quite short, but meh:)**


	19. In Pieces

**AND LET THERE BE FLUUUUUFFFFF! LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF _FLUUUUFFFF_! Here's the next chapter. **

* * *

**in pieces**

* * *

 _i fine everything i thought i lost before  
_ _you call my name  
_ _i come to you in pieces  
so you can make me whole  
_ _ **— red**_

* * *

 _You're not keeping anything from me… right?_

Jason's voice echoed in her head, repeating itself over and over again, and may she add, completely uninvitingly, because god, she would do _anything_ to stop beating herself over repeatedly with how guilty she was feeling. Aria had been keeping _many_ things from Jason over the course of the year, with A and everything – after Mona was locked up, she hoped that all lying and secrets would stop, but no, instead, a new A had to come in the picture and screw everything up, meaning Aria was keeping even more secrets than before. And on top of all of that, there was Veronica Hastings defending Garrett, and she wasn't sure what Jason's reaction would be, and was there even a word to cover how stressed out she was?

Aria turned her attention to her three best friends, who were discussing Jenna and what they had witnessed the day before. Fiddling with the napkin in front of her, she started to talk:

"Do we really believe that Jenna was off on a joyride that night? It was her plan all along to take Emily to Ali's grave?"

"Seemed to me like she was scared of someone," murmured Emily. "She said she was still seen as a target."

"And it seemed like she was blind for five months when she _wasn't_ ," Aria cut in sarcastically.

"For purposes of my head now exploding, could we just say that she _is_ telling the truth?" Hanna groaned.

"Well… that would mean that we would cross her off the new 'A' list," said Spencer.

"Then who's still on it?" Emily asked. "Lucas?"

"No way," Hanna shook her head vehemently, an amused look on her face. "He might be a little _unhinged_ lately, but he's definitely not capable of _digging up a grave_.?

Aria pointedly sighed. "Guys, all roads lead back to the Black Swan. We know that she's working with Mona – the sketches were in her lair."

At that point, Melissa turned around from the counter and said, "Spencer, Mom wants to know if you want anything else."

Spencer shook her head. "Uh, no… Thank you, Mom."

When Melissa turned back around, Emily commented, "Melissa looks great."

"Yeah, she's back to being size two skinny," When the girls looked at Hanna questioningly, she carried on. "Black Swan skinny? Think about it. We know that she lied about when she lost her baby-"

"Whoa, _back up_ ," Spencer interrupted. "You think that she was pretending to be pregnant for that long? No! That's like… months… There's no way – she wouldn't do that to my parents." She was right – if Hanna's theory was correct, then Melissa didn't lose her baby shortly after the return of A, like she had told Spencer, but way before – a whole five months before, in fact. No matter how cold-hearted Melissa might be, she wouldn't do that.

"Well, then, who else could it be?" Emily asked.

"Mona started talking again – maybe she can give us some answers," Hanna said, and she sipped at her drink. The silence that came tumbling after was short-lived, because the door of the restaurant was bust open within seconds, and there stood… oh god…

" _Jason_?" the girls exclaimed.

"Did you really think you could avoid me forever?" Jason said, holding his bag with one hand as he stumbled into the Brew. It took Aria a minute to figure out that he wasn't talking to _her_ , but Spencer's mom. At first, she felt relieved that he wasn't taking out his anger on _her_ , seeing as _she_ had kept it a secret from him, but then the guilt kicked in. "How could you defend Garrett?"

"Let's not have this conversation here," Veronica mumbled, looking around, where many people were already staring at the scene.

"Oh, so it doesn't bother you that he _murdered my sister_?" Jason said in a firmer voice.

Aria knew where this was heading and stood up before he could say another word. "Jason, stop." He glanced at her briefly, before turning back to Veronica and Melissa.

"Look, I understand that you're upset, but this really isn't the place," Veronica said.

"Just tell me _why_ you're doing it," he stated.

" _Jason_ ," Aria pressed on, and sighed in relief when he relaxed a little bit, stepping backwards.

"Everyone deserves a competent legal defense," Veronica replied, which caused Jason to regain himself, angrier than before.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Jason let himself turn to look at Melissa, who stiffened under his gaze.

"Let the process play out, Jason," Veronica said, and she seemed unscathed by him. "Focus on taking care of your family, and yourself."

Jason laughed spitefully. "Don't worry. I am." And with that, he turned on his heel, not giving anyone a second glance.

"Jason? _Jason_. God damn it," Aria groaned, and she gave the girls a quick warning look, and they followed her out of the restaurant. "Jason, are you okay?" she asked when they saw him by the tree outside.

"No," he said. "But I will be."

The liars stared at the poster he had stuck on the bark:

 _ **Reward: $50,000  
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Alison DiLaurentis' remains,  
please contact Jason DiLaurentis**_

Aria had a strong, _strong_ feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

"He's not _serious_ , is he?"

But Aria saw Jason in the far-off distance, pinning up yet more posters on the walls.

As if on cue, each of their phones went off, and sharing a quick look, they read the text.

 **Imagine what I could do with fifty grand…  
** _ **—**_ **A**

This was _definitely_ not going to end well.

Aria stormed off, following Jason, who luckily, had not gone very far.

"Jason!" Aria shouted, and Jason turned around, before taking off again. "Jason, _don't_ walk away from me!"

"I'm not," Jason said, and he stopped for her to catch up with him.

" _Jason_!" Aria exclaimed.

" _What_? What am I doing?" Jason asked, throwing his hands up in the air as he turned to look at her.

"Stop running away!"

"I said, I'm _not_ ," he pressed, in what was supposed to be a calm voice, but the anger got the better of him, and it came out harshly, and caused Aria to flinch. He carried on, crossing his arms. "I'm staying, okay? I'm not running away."

"You _are_ running away," Aria accused. "You're running away from all of it – all your problems, all that you don't want to believe."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"You're scared," she said. "You want to believe that Garrett killed Alison, because you're scared that it's going to be someone else. You don't, even for one second, think about if Garrett was even with Ali that night – if he _even_ _murdered_ her."

"Which he did-"

"Which we don't know! You need to believe what there _is_ to believe, and you need to face _facts_. Pinning something on the wall and letting people lie and lie and lie to you isn't going to help that, okay?" Aria said, although she was gritting her teeth – her lying to him since the return of A wasn't helping with all of it, and if he found out…

"You don't-"

"You need to _stop_ , Jason. You need to stop running from your problems, because you know you'll just be running right back."

"Sometimes, I don't need to face them. I've had a complicated enough life already," Jason said, his tone still harsh and stern. "But you're right; I don't _want_ to face my problems. I'm glad you figured _that_ out. Now, what else is there to figure out? Nothing! Because _Garrett_ freaking _Reynolds_ killed my sister, and obviously has her body somewhere out there, in some sick, _sick_ place-"

"Jason, _stop_!" Aria exclaimed. "I know you don't want to face your problems, but sometimes you _need_ to." she paused. "Look, I know that you're scared, and I know that you're hurt, but you can't possibly think that handing fifty grand to some stranger who probably lied to you will get you anywhere – because it won't. And you can't let that happen to you – you can't have false hope for something that's way too far from your reach."

Jason shook his head. "Finding out who is lying will not be a prob-"

" _No_ ," Aria said. "You can't let people just… just walk all over you like that. I know that finding Ali's killer is your top-"

"I don't need to _find_ who killed Ali, because _Garrett did_."

"Jason, all of us – _all of us_ – want to know who did it, okay?"

"You don't understand!"

Anger arose in her throat. "You're right, I _don't_! _That_ is the reason why I am standing here and _fighting_ with you!"

"Which I didn't ask you to do!"

"Oh, well I'm _sorry_ ," Aria shouted. "I'm sorry that I care about you enough that I'd hate to see you hurt! I'm sorry that I want to help you, because I don't want people lying and lying to you so you can only get lied to _again_. I'm sorry that I _love_ you, to actually _tell_ you to stop running away, because I'd go out of my _freaking mind_ if I lost you, and I told you before that I _know_ that you're upset, and I know you're mad, and I'm _sorry_ that I have to say it _again_." She then stepped back, a little shocked at herself with her outburst.

Jason's expression softened and Aria saw traces of guilt on his face. "I…"

"You don't need to say anything – and please _don't_ say you're sorry," Aria said. Jason telling her he was sorry would, on top of all things, make her heart burst with guilt, and regret, because she knew she was being hypocritical – all she'd been doing since A's return was lie and lie and lie again, but that was different… wasn't it? After all, it was what Spencer and Hanna had been doing to Toby and Caleb, and it was probably what Emily was doing with Paige, too.

"Sometimes, I just…"

"I know," Aria said, and she moved a little closer to him. "And I'm going to help you – because you're not the only one dying to know…" She stopped herself, because she knew that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

Jason looked hesitant again, and although he turned to Aria properly, he didn't directly look her in the eye. "Aria, I…"

"Shh," Aria whispered, and she moved even closer, and kissed him. "Did you bring your car?"

Jason shrugged. "I'd figured I'd run over less people if I walked."

Aria sighed, but took his hand. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

"I don't need a babysitter-"

"Shh," Aria said again, pulling her phone out. "I'll just text Spencer." As Jason grudgingly agreed, Aria scrolled down her contact list.

 **I'm taking Jason home. Cover for me?**  
 _ **—**_ **Aria**

Aria looked back up and tugged Jason's arm towards where her car was.

 **Okay. Is he alright?**  
 _ **—**_ **Spencer**

Was he? He'd spent a year in rehab after his sister disappeared, then her body was found, he came back, and found out that one of his old best friends had murdered her, only to then find out that wasn't true. Then _he himself_ had been accused of his own sister's murder… more than the odd time. On top of all of that, he found out that his father wasn't his biological one – meaning he had two more sisters to add to his family tree. There was his trying to get over the fact it had been hidden from him for over thirteen years, and of course there was A – twisted, murderous, cold-blooded A hanging his guilt over his head, with that note that had convinced him it had been him, only to find out that it wasn't A who slipped in that very note, but his other best friend, who was now a suspect for both the murder and the stealing of Alison's body, _although_ his biological father's wife was defending him. And it didn't help that his parents hadn't the heart to call him through all of it, not even for a simple, "How are you?"

So, no, Jason was probably _not_ okay – and Aria really, _really_ didn't blame him for it.

 **Yes**  
 _ **—**_ **Aria**

* * *

The drive back home was in utter silent, both too scared to say something, and to say it was awkward was an understatement, because it _was_ awkward – very awkward. During the whole of their relationship, she'd never expected something to be _that awkward_ and uncomfortable, although that was exactly the two things she was feeling _at that moment_. She didn't have to be told to know that he was feeling that, too.

"So…" Jason started as they reached the front door.

"So…" Aria carried on, unable to meet his eye.

Then, although she really didn't know why, she started to laugh – she was flustered, and confused, and even _angry_ , but at that moment, laughing seemed to be the right thing to do. Jason looked at her, puzzled, but it only took a matter of time for him to start laughing along, and by the time they'd stopped with their giggling fit, Aria had ended up with her head in his chest.

"So… are we going inside or not?" she asked against his red shirt.

"Hang on a minute," Jason bent down and from under the doormat, he produced a single key.

"That _really_ isn't a good place to put your key," Aria pressed.

"It's just a spare one, don't worry," Jason said. "And I _would_ put it somewhere else, but I have a rather selective memory, so…"

"Well, then I guess my pink hair is _selective_ …"

Jason grinned. "You'll never know." he paused. "You don't have to stay with me, you know."

"No, I want to," Aria pressed. "I don't want to go home to my dad right now."

"Is everything—"

"—yes, everything is okay." Aria let the door shut behind her – the reason why she _really_ couldn't stand living under the same roof as her father was because she thought – no, _was positive_ – that her dad was now dating Meredith, what with his strange haircut and even stranger aftershave. How she was going to break the news to her mother, she didn't know, but for the time being, being with Byron would only increase her urge to strangle both him and the blonde bimbo – and just the sight of him made her feel betrayed, and hurt, and just so, so… _weak_.

Before she knew it, she was kissing him. She was just… _kissing_ him. And in that moment, the last thing she wanted to do was to stop kissing him, to stop feeling this wonderful, _wonderful_ sensation, because it really was sensational, and it made her insides feel all gooey, and her eyes go all spotty.

"Aria, I-" Jason started in a small breath as they broke apart, but he was stopped with Aria's finger over the parting of his lips.

"Less talking, more kissing," Aria commanded, and placed her lips on his again. "We should carry this on in your bedroom."

* * *

What she was doing was crazy – _crazy_ – but why, oh why did it have to feel so right?

She kissed him gingerly again, and again, and again, until she felt her whole world spin around. She tugged at his shirt, whispering in his ear two words, just two single words – "I'm ready."

Hesitantly, he met her eyes. "Are you _sure_?"

"Yes." It barely escaped as a whisper, because she really had nothing else to say, because all she was thinking about was Jason, and Jason, and Jason.

"Aria, if you don't-"

"But I do," Aria said.

He nodded but all the same seemed reluctant, until she kissed him again. He let her wrap her legs around his waist, and he let himself push her gently onto the bed, and he let her kiss him, and he let himself kiss back.

His fingers nimbly touched the corner of her dress, and her fingers went up to the hem of his shirt, and she helped pull it over the top of his head.

"I love you, Aria," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Jason," she said.

Her skin prickled at his touch, but as his fingers moved up and down, she felt like the most important thing in the world.

It was perfect.

He lowered himself down on her, and with one last longing gaze, he entered, and whatever pain she felt went away within a heartbeat, and they moved with each other, in sync, and everything was so… _right_.

* * *

 _"Hey, you alright?"_

 _It was one of those times when she had completely nothing to say, because she was neither alright nor not alright – she was just… damn, if only Jason with his beautiful green eyes wasn't standing directly in front of her, her brain would actually be able to function properly._

 _"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, shrugging._

 _"She lies," laughed Jason, and he took a seat next to her on the couch._

 _"I am not," Aria said through gritted teeth._

 _"I may not be good at a lot of things, but I know when people are lying," Jason sighed. "Look, is it about Alison or your dad… I mean, I'm not a great talker, but I'll be more than willing to listen to you…"_

 _"I…" All of her words were getting mixed up, because she just realized how close she and Jason were – mere inches, no, less, because Aria counted three freckles on his cheekbone, and the faint outline of a dimple lingering on his cheek. "I… you're right. I'm not alright, because everything is just so…_ messed up _."_

 _Jason tilted his head at an angle, and turned Aria's face to line up with his._

 _"Maybe I can make it better," he said vaguely._

 _"I'd like to see you tr-"_

 _She was cut off by a kiss, and may she add, a first kiss. The feeling of lip on lip felt… felt strange, but mostly because she had never felt such a feeling before._

 _Holy hell,_ Jason DiLaurentis _was kissing her._

 _It seemed like eons before they finally –_ finally _– broke apart. He flashed her a smile, and let his fingers touch hers, before leaving the room, and Aria, who was in one hell of a daze because she had just been kissed by_ Jason DiLaurentis _._

 _"Ew," a voice from behind her said. "My brother and my best friend? That is so disgusting."_

 _"A-Ali…" Aria stammered, and she walked briskly to the blonde, who had stationed herself at the table. "Damn it, how much did you see?"_

 _"Oh, I saw enough to scar me for a lifetime," Ali clicked her tongue. "Hey, was he touching your boobs?"_

 _"What?" It had just been a kiss – nothing else. His finger did not go anywhere near her body, apart from her face, but that was what happened in all kisses… right?_

 _"He has a girlfriend, you know. And he's gross, he's a stoner, and he's definitely not interested in you."_

 _Aria stiffened under her gaze as Alison took her time to eye her body, and her pink streak._

 _"He'd never fall for a little, immature girl like you," Ali paused. "And haven't you learned from me already? Jason is a terrible person. And kissing you – that was probably for pure amusement."_

 _Aria took a step forward as tears watered in her eyes. "Please – please don't tell anyone!"_

 _"Of course not, sweetie," Alison gently placed a hand on Aria's shoulder. "I would hate to see you hurt."_

* * *

"I've already gotten twenty or so calls," Jason murmured as he started to get dressed, pulling his shirt over his head.

"What's the time?" Aria groaned, still groggy from short-lived sleep.

"About five in the morning," Jason said. "But about the calls – what do I do?"

Aria sighed, and she tossed on the bed, groaning again. "Can we talk about this when my brain is actually able to function? Because at the moment, I can't bloody think."

Jason laughed, and kissed her one more time. "So. Pancakes?"

* * *

" _Don't_ ," Aria said without warning as they settled a place on his couch after a whole-hearted breakfast, an old black-and-white movie playing on mute. She had found a comfortable place in his chest, where she rested her head, and he was aimlessly fiddling with the strands of hair. At her retort, he nodded and let his fingers slide off her head. "No… I'm talking about the calls. Carry on doing that – it feels nice."

Jason laughed, although his fingers stayed down by his side. "What about the calls?"

"Don't answer them – because they're lies, and lies, and lies…" Aria said.

"But _what if_ —"

" _Jason_ …" Aria pressed, and Jason's shoulders slumped.

"You're bossy," he said, pouting.

Aria giggled, and with her fingers, pushed back his fringe. She then turned serious. " _Promise_ me?"

The arm that wasn't around Aria's shoulder went to her back, and he let his middle and index finger cross.

"Jason…"

His crossed fingers tightened even more, but he nodded, although he was gritting teeth and wincing at the two words that escaped his mouth. "I promise."

"Good," Aria said, and she kissed him fervently again.

Jason never thought he'd be lying to her – but he _needed_ to find Alison's body, and even if it really _hadn't_ been Garrett, he still needed to know.

Jason got lost in the kiss before he knew it.

" _Um, Jason? It's me. Dad. I just wanted to give you a warning – I'm, uh, coming back to Rosewood. Things have been a little… complicated, and I'm, for the time being, coming back. I'll be home in a few weeks, I guess…_ "

They broke apart, and both turned to stare incredulously at the telephone on the kitchen table. Surprise didn't fit their expressions.

" _Um_ …" Aria started awkwardly.

"Well," Jason carried on. "That – that's a first…"

"So…" Aria cleared her throat. "Some, uh, hot chocolate?"

* * *

 **Aaaaaaaaaand that's all I have. Mostly fluff. Mostly kissing. Mostly lying. I was looking forward to writing this chapter – this fight scene was actually written in August:) So… a huge step-up in their relationship, rated T… Or is it meant to be K plus? Or M? I get really confused with the rating, so for a long time I thought a single swear word made it M:')) I think it's T… Anyway… a review a day keeps the A-Team away:)**


	20. Surprises Every Corner

**Thanks for all the awesome feedback – I am super super super grateful:) It really gives me inspiration!**

* * *

 **surprises every corner**

* * *

 _didn't they tell us don't rush into things?  
didn't you flash your green eyes at me?  
haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?  
_ _— **taylor swift**_

* * *

"You both just need a little time to cool off," Aria offered as Hanna filled her out about Caleb, and Wren, and Mona, and all the complications and roads that always seemed to wind its way to Radley – and A. Hanna just groaned and slumped herself down onto the table top. She looked up at her best friend and shook her head hopelessly.

"Caleb's not going to be cooling off any time soon," Hanna groaned. "Jason did, did he?"

"Moving on," Aria said loudly. "Look-"

"He doesn't understand why I need to see Mona, and it's killing me not to tell him," Hanna interrupted.

"Maybe you should," Aria stated.

"Maybe I should _what_?"

"Tell him… tell him why you're going there – and about… A," Aria lowered her voice. At Hanna's protest, she spoke once more – "If I was in the same situation as you are… I'd tell Jason about A." Would she? And if she looked at it an angle, _wasn't_ she basically in the same situation as Hanna, because A knew all about Jason's reward poster, and exactly _where_ the body was – and, well, those two things _did not_ go well together. "I… guess I'd have to."

No response.

"Hanna… I may not be the best at relationship advice, but-"

"No, I think you're right," Hanna said, and with a change of tone, she brightly asked, "So… _did_ Jason cool off? Spencer didn't give us details – except the fact you were going to take him home…" When she saw Aria's arising blush, she widened her eyes. "Oh my god! Did you guys have-"

" _Moving on_ ," Aria exclaimed, and she opened her laptop again. "Your mom's right next to us! I don't want her thinking me of some prostitute!"

"She would never! Besides, she knows that you and Jason are dating…"

" _Hanna_ , _shut up_ ," Aria gritted her teeth.

Hanna shrugged, and looked at Aria's laptop. "Why are you looking at pictures of bald, fat men, anyway?"

Aria pointedly sighed. "Well, I'm trying to find a guy for my mom…"

"Yeah, preferably someone that doesn't look like a grape!" Hanna said. "Your mom's divorced, not desperate." At Aria's face, Hanna added, "You haven't told her about your suspicions on Byrodith, have you?"

Aria coughed loudly. "I'm sorry – _Byrodith_?"

"Your dad and Meredith. Duh," Hanna rolled her eyes. "Your mom… she'll be okay with it… won't she…?"

A commotion from the corridor caused Aria to shut her laptop quickly, and Hanna's mom walked in. Catching on with their guilty looks, she looked from her daughter, to Aria, and placed a hand on her hip.

"Hey, Mom," Hanna said in a nervous voice.

"Hello, Mrs Marin…" Aria followed on.

"Okay… what is it you've got to hide?" Ashley said with a raised eyebrow. " _Hanna_ , we said _no more_ secrets…"

Both sighing, they lifted up the laptop.

"Should I be worried?" she said immediately.

"I'm trying to find a date for my mom…" Aria explained. The buzz of her phone drew her attention away from whatever she was trying to tell Hanna's mom, and as Ashley and Hanna spoke, Aria took it out to look at the message.

 **Aria – I'm getting worried. You didn't come home last night. Where are you?**  
 **—Dad**

Aria rolled her eyes at his fake concern.

"I think I should head home – my dad's wondering where I was last night…" Aria whispered in Hanna's ear.

"Well, it didn't involve a certain green-eyed-"

" _Hanna_."

"All I'm saying is that that's three down, with only one to go – it's only a matter of time before Spencer and Toby-"

" _I'm leaving now_ ," Aria declared, and politely saying goodbye to Mrs Marin, she walked out of Hanna's house.

* * *

 _One, two, three… five hundred…_

His work – all of it – had never been so _tedious_. He loved counseling, and he loved the way he was able to play a part in their lives, play a part in helping them turn themselves the right way up, something Jason hadn't been able to do in the past.

But the files – they seemed to come endlessly.

 _Ding dong_.

He ignored it – Spencer was off in Philly to visit Melissa, and she wouldn't be back until the following week, so it couldn't possibly be here. He doubted Hanna and Emily would ever visit, and Aria was off with the other girls. His dad would be coming sometime soon, but that wasn't for another few weeks or so.

He carried on with the filing.

 _Ding dong._ Pause. _Knock knock._

Groaning, he finally got himself up to open the door – if whoever was at it was that desperate, he might as well just see what they wanted. Maybe it was some scouts girl, or even the postman – it wouldn't steal too much of his time.

He opened it.

" _Mom_?"

With no doubt, Jessica DiLaurentis was on the other side – he hadn't seen her mother since… since the fashion show fiasco, where he'd spent days and days cleaning up her puke from the countless _Bloody Mary's_ she had drowned.

"Hello, Jason," she smiled at him, but she was evidently nervous.

"Mom…" Jason started. "Um… no offense but… why are you here?"

Jessica shrugged. "I haven't seen you in a long time, and I missed you." She stopped herself and took a step forwards – "May I come in?"

He hesitated. "S-sure…"

"I'm sorry it's late notice, but things have been a little hectic at home, you know, especially with… with Alison," Jessica sighed. "So… are you doing okay? Has Dad been in contact with you?"

Jason crossed his arms – no words needed to be said, for his expression showed all.

"Jason… I'm sorry," Jessica started, trying to see reason with her son. "I wanted to tell you-"

"But you didn't," Jason sighed. "You had plenty of time – _years_ – and you didn't tell me."

"A lot of things happened in those years," she said defensively. "And you weren't in the right state of-"

"Don't start with the excuses," he spat.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Really. But it's not the reason I came here, of course, partly… but… but also because… I just wanted to say that you are my son, Jason, and you always will be, no matter what. Sure, things happen and change, but in all, I'm proud of you, and I love you."

Jason stopped, and his expression softened, although he didn't move from his spot. "Okay."

"Jason…"

"I heard you the first time," he interrupted, and then paused, looking around the house, hungrily searching for nothing. He turned his gaze back to his mother, and her look – it showed something of genuine concern, and apology. Sighing inwardly, he knew that he'd lost, for she was his _mother_ , and aside filthy lies and accusations, she had raised him.

After what felt like eons, he finally spoke up: "I'll make dinner."

* * *

Maybe she should tell him.

 _No_! _You can't_! _A will wreck you two apart – just like Spencer and Toby, and now probably Hanna and Caleb. Do I even have to_ start _on Maya and Emily_?

Maybe he wouldn't react terribly.

 _Oh, so what happened in that whole scene with Mrs Hastings_?

Her subconscious spoke for herself – it always did. It was like a constant fight between herself and herself, and each time she'd lose against herself.

"Aria? Is that you?"

She rolled her eyes, and proceeded to walk into the house, trying to ignore her dad – it worked for the first few minutes, but he rushed almost as soon as she could make for the stairs.

"Aria!" Byron exclaimed.

"Hi, Dad," deadpanned Aria.

"Where were you last night? I called you, and I called you again and again, but you didn't answer!"

"Bye, Dad."

"No, I am awaiting a proper answer! Do you even know how it felt to have you just… gone? With Alison and everything, who could have known if someone had got you, if someone was _hurting you_? Don't ever stay out late like that again!"

"I was at Hanna's," Aria muttered throw gritted teeth. "I was with Hanna because she was having problems with her boyfriend, and you know what best friends do. Oh, and my phone was off. Now, seriously, _goodbye_."

As soon as she entered her bedroom she collapsed onto her bed face first, because she was so freaking _sick_ of everything – _everything_.

Her phone vibrated from her back pocket.

 **Big Brother is hiding something from you, and trust me, you don't wanna know.**  
 **—A**

* * *

It was only six hours, five re-runs of _Friends_ , five Cheesy Wotsits packets later in which Aria had finally found herself sliding off her bed to sneak downstairs. By the laughter, it was obvious her dad was in – and it was more than evident that his special plus one was Meredith the Skank.

She nibbled on her lip as she reached the front door, but as curiosity got the best of her, she peered into the small cracks of the kitchen room door to see what they were up to.

A small, sick feeling was produced at the pits of her stomach as she saw Meredith's fingers slide up and down her father's arm, and it only increased when she realised that Byron was doing the same. That feeling plummeted to a gasp as she stayed stiff and silent as her father kissed Meredith, right there, right then, full on her mouth.

She ran from the scrap she called her home, down each road, each avenue, and to the one place where she didn't have to hide herself.

Byron and Meredith – something about the pair seemed oddly… _right_.

She didn't hide her tears, because she knew that he'd understand, she knew that he'd let her reach out for him.

"Ar?" he questioned as he opened the door. "Aria, are you okay?"

"Can I come in?" she said through tears.

Jason looked over his shoulder, somewhat uncertainly, and gave her a hesitating look as he re-steadied his eyes on her. "Um…"

Now no one wanted her, no one would let her.

"I'm… sorry," she said quickly, a blush taking over her cheeks. "I… shouldn't have some here. I… This was a mistake. I'm sorry, Jason." Just as she turned on her heel to make a hasty retreat, Jason gently pulled at her arm, making her turn around, tears still messily running down her face and onto her crumpled clothes.

"Aria, stay."

"But—"

"It can wait," Jason said, and brought her in, closing the door behind them. "Right now, you're way more important."

"I'm sor—"

"Shh, shh," he said soothingly. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"Just hold me," she sobbed quietly. "Please. "

And so he complied, and she felt safe, and comfortable, and drastically less screwed up.

"Is this… something to do with—"

"Jason? Who is—"

The voice was familiar, and she wiped off her tears to look at the woman speaking. Her eyes widened at the sight and instinctively jumped behind Jason, small enough to be covered fully.

"Aria?" Jessica DiLaurentis twisted her head around, making Aria feel uber uneasy. "Aria?"

"Mrs DiLaurentis," Aria nodded, still behind Jason.

"I…" She seemed lost for words. "I… Well… I didn't realise… Jason… you and… "

"Yes," Jason said.

Aria felt the need to stop the hibernating, and she turned to finally face Jessica.

"How long?" Mrs DiLaurentis asked, still rather fumbling for words that made sense.

This left Aria to think – officially? That would be about…

"Nine months," said Jason, throwing both Aria and his mother off course. Aria herself was surprised that it had almost been a year since they first got together, and she didn't have to turn around to know that Jessica was equally surprised, if not very confused, for who would have thought for them to ever get together?

"I should head home," Aria muttered, and giving Jason a quick squeeze in the hand, she walked off, giving both DiLaurentises one last look, before heading out the door.

"Aria," Jason called after her, and bent his head down in a whisper. "If this is about your dad… then… you're more than welcome to stay here." He knew her so well that she even thought it was impossible – but then again, she hadn't come up as totally concealing, had she? Either way, she was more than glad he had found out, and even more for the invitation, but…

This was Jason's time with his mother.

"It's okay," Aria smiled weakly. "You spend time with your mum. I'll be fine at Spencer's."

"You sure?" he asked seriously, every inch of his face filled with sincerity. If Aria was in the state to break down like this, something was definitely up.

"Uhuh," Aria said. "I'll call you later."

She brushed her lips gently against his, and finally walked out, as good as her word, except her feet didn't guide her next door.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Jessica almost as soon as Aria was out of sight.

"Because it didn't come up," shrugged Jason. _And it's not like you would care, anyway._

"I am a little… surprised," said Jessica admittedly. "But nonetheless I am happy for you, because it looks  
like she cares about you a lot, and it looks like you care about her, too. And I'm glad she's nothing like that CeCe Drake," Jessica scrunched up her nose. "She was a nightmare."

At the mention of his ex, he, too scrunched up his nose and winced, because CeCe was indeed a nightmare, a demon from hell, and she turned everyone's lives completely upside down. Aria was Aria, beautiful, unexpected, and the girl he was in love with but CeCe…? CeCe was CeCe.

"Yeah," Jason said. "You can take the, um, guest room, because I don't think you'd want Ali's…"

"Thank you, Jason," Jessica smiled at him, before trodding up the stairs.

Almost as soon as _she_ was out of sight, Jason whipped his phone out, eyes searching for any messages – for a second, his mind went blank with utter guilt, remembering his promise, but then he snapped out of it. He loved Aria, he really did. She was the first girl to ever have made him fall in love with her, but secrets were secrets, and lies were lies – as much as he was head over heels for her, he needed to know where Alison's body was. And with that call he received the day before, he knew exactly where it was.

Hesitantly, he turned around, and then stepped back towards the front door. The cold breeze blew against his clothes, and he felt like he'd been splashed with icy water, but why risk having his mother hear?

Just as he placed his phone to his ear, his eye caught onto a tall brunette wearing a duffel coat, strolling through the front yard, daydreaming.

Nervously, he placed his phone back to his side. For any attempt to ease his uneasiness, he turned to small talk. "Taking a night-time stroll?"

Spencer turned to face her half-brother. She laughed, nodding.

Jason looked at her, a little confused, but smiled at her all the same. "I didn't know you were back from Philly already."

"I was going to call, but I had to much on my mind," Spencer smiled weakly. "But no, Jason, I'm not back."

Jason laughed. "Rough night?" asked Jason, and he hopped down two of the steps.

Spencer laughed again, and shook her head. "Try rough _two years_." She sighed and made her way to Jason, who had taken a seat down on the steps.

"You don't know how glad I am that I'm going to college next year," Spencer said somewhat wistfully as she took her seat. She fiddled with the buttons of her coat as she talked. "Away from all of this nonsense… these… dysfunctional people."

This time it was Jason's turn to laugh. He'd tried ridding the demons of Rosewood that oh so itched to plague him, and he'd failed. Multiple times. For once you lived in Rosewood, stayed in Rosewood, drowned in Rosewood, Rosewood stayed with you.

"It sounds good, doesn't it?" Jason said. He remembered leaving after Alison's disappearance – he's longed to go elsewhere, far, far away from Rosewood for goodness knew how long, but each moment he'd gone, he's wanted to return. "Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way."

Spencer gave him a quizzical look.

"You can leave Rosewood," started Jason, and he told her what he had told himself over and over again when he was still in that drunken haze, half-mourning, half-holding on for Alison, years and years back. "But Rosewood will never leave you."

At his words, Spencer seemed to freeze, and she cast her eyes down. "I get what you mean."

Jason nodded sadly. "Until it's finally blown over."

"If it does," she finished.

Jason nodded again, before changing the subject. "So… is Aria at your house?"

"My house?" asked Spencer, and she eyed him curiously. "Why would she be at _my_ house?"

"Oh," Jason said. "Oh. I thought… she told me… she probably went home."

"Yeah," Spencer said absentmindedly. "Jason?"

"Mhm?"

"The posters – the ones you pinned up," Spencer said. "You're taking them down, right? Because Rosewood is _crawling_ with frauds and liars and cheaters, and Aria may have told you this, but I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'm taking it down," Jason interrupted, the lies rolling off his tongue. "Don't worry." At his ringing phone, Jason stood up and dismissed himself with one gesture—"Um… I sort of need to take this. I'll see you tomorrow then, Spence?"

"Yeah," Spencer said, and she, too, left, finally leaving Jason to himself, his phone, and the person who knew where Ali's body was.

* * *

 **It's rather short, but I'll speed things up – at the moment, I'm going at an incredibly slow rate. Once again, thank you so so much, and I hope to update ASAP.**


	21. Rewind (And Then Pause)

**So, in this chapter, we rewind. (And to _Guest_ , please look up what the hell _fanfiction_ means. Thank you.)**

* * *

 **rewind  
(and then pause)**

* * *

 _i don't wanna think about it now  
is there something you said?  
all these secrets that you keep  
but i don't wanna think about it now  
 **— of verona**_

* * *

"So all this time, you've been _lying_ to me?" Three steps – three steps was what she took, towards him, then one backwards as he started to speak, then one advanced as she interrupted him. Catching people out on a lie – it wasn't meant to feel like _this_ , it was supposed to make you feel salient, and _good_ , but this played out the opposite effect. Aria just wanted to go down, and down, and down, and just disappear from the face of the earth. She felt powerless. She felt trod on, all over again.

"Aria—"

" _Don't_!" she exclaimed.

"Don't what?" he intercepted. "I'm not doing anything."

"Yeah, well, you _lied_."

"And so did you."

Silence. Pause. Pause.

Aria looked at her boyfriend, examining his face – was he bluffing, or _did he know about A_? This wasn't happening – no, Jason _couldn't_ have found out.

"When were you going to tell me A was back?" he asked defiantly.

"When were you going to tell me you were _trusting_ these stupid Rosewood _frauds_ ," she shot back, with equal defiance. Currently, she resembled a fire cracker – one wrong move and she'd explode. Jason had already made all the wrong moves, lost all the points, but looking over, she'd done just the same.

"Aria, _A_ —"

"How do you even _know_ about A?"

* * *

 **earlier**

* * *

Aria sniffed into the hem of her sweater, hoping to, in any way, be soothed by the faint smell of her mother's perfume. With Meredith around and about the house, Aria had seen her mom lesser and lesser as the time went by.

"Aria, are you okay?" Spencer asked from beside her.

Quickly, she nodded. "Yeah. I just… Hanna and Caleb broke up, and it's because of me. I'm the one who told her to—"

"It wasn't your fault," Emily but in.

"Yeah," nodded Spencer. "If anyone's, it's Caleb's."

Aria, too, nodded, but the sick folding feeling at the pits of her stomach only increased – it was her fault, and she knew it. They walked down Emily's road in silence, until they caught sight of a large ambulance parked by the end of the avenue.

"What the hell is going on?" questioned Aria. "Is that Jenna's?"

"'No idea," said Spencer.

They rushed to the scene, and were just able to catch sight of a woman being wheeled by a few paramedics, onto a stretcher, into the vehicle, and then away, and away. The liars exchanged a quick look as they tried to edge closer – who was she? Did they know her?

"It's Mrs Reynolds," spoke Emily. "She's the woman."

* * *

"…And the world's biggest bear claw…" Aria smiled at her boyfriend as she passed him a packed lunch.

"What's in here?" Jason asked slowly.

"They had that Turkey baguette on the menu that you love," smiled Aria. "I got you two – you know, _just in case_ ," She handed him yet another brown carrier bag filled with food. "And—"

"You got me roasted veggies and pickles," he finished.

"Uhuh," Aria grinned. "Pickles come with!" Aria passed Jason the coffee. "And here's your latte."

"Th-thanks," Jason started. "But let me—"

"No!" Aria shook her head. "I'm paying. I insist."

Reluctantly, he agreed, and they took their seats in front of the café, watching each passer-by, enjoying the sweet, sweet silence.

"Did you hear about Mrs Reynolds?" said Aria, breaking the placidity.

Jason nodded solemnly. "Yes. I did. She was a nice mother, she really was. I guess it was the whole stress with Garrett, you know? I don't blame her."

More stolen moments passed, both too scared to say the wrong thing – Mrs Reynolds could, for all they knew, be dying in hospital, and bringing up Garrett and Ali was going to bring up only more stress. Aria was almost relieved when her phone buzzed (aside the possibility of A being the one to text her, of course).

 **Where are you?  
—Spencer**

Aria inwardly rolled her eyes, and looked up at Jason, who still seemed to be looking out into nowhere. School was starting in about twenty minutes, and prim, prissy, immaculate Spencer was obviously already there, wasn't she?

"Hey, Jase," said Aria.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go," she laughed. Jason nodded, and took off walking with her, only stopping as they heard a large commotion coming from behind them. There was a boy, possibly her age, banging recklessly onto the window of the photography studio at the end of the street.

"Give me back my stuff! Please! Just _let me in_!"

"That's Lucas," said Aria suddenly. She exchanged a quick look with Jason. "What is he doing here?"

Jason shook his head, bewildered, and they both walked away from the scene with ringing heads. Aria glanced at her watch at groaned at the time – she got into Jason's car, still groaning, and they drove on.

"That was weird," Aria said.

"I know," agreed Jason. "First Mrs Reynolds, now that Lucas dude – Rosewood's getting fishier by the minute."

Alarmed, Aria suddenly turned to him – that answer, it seemed like an answer from someone who would know what was going on – about A, about all the lies. But she shook it off, not wanting to revisit that yet again.

 **I'm coming  
—Aria**

Aria turned her phone off, and leaned against the seat until they pulled into the Rosewood car park.

"How many kids are you counselling today?" asked Aria, as he opened the boot to pull out a set of yellow files.

Jason shrugged. "I'm not sure… six? Something like that," He leaned in for a quick kiss. "Well, I'll see you later, then, Ar."

"Mhm," she nodded, and watched him leave. She pulled out her phone in search for any replies.

 **I just saw Lucas at the photo studio… being kind of, um, crazy.  
—Aria**

Pause.

 **And I'm at school now.  
—Aria**

Pause. Pause. Another pause.

Aria gave up waiting, and proceeded into the school building, having an eye out to try and look for Spencer, or Emily, or Hanna. Giving up completely, Aria walked to her first lesson, which was American History – Spencer was probably off on a different block, doing Stage Fifteen Algebra or something; Hanna was probably at home, still a wreck; Emily was probably doing a few makeup tests.

Aria took her seat, right at the back, and tuned out.

The door creaked magnificently, and in came yet another student – hoping it would be one of the girls, Aria looked up, only to see it was just another boy – a boy she could not put a name to.

This new boy took the empty seat beside her, and turned to her, as if he knew her, and then turned back to the front.

 _Strange_ , she thought, _but who the hell is he_?

"Hi," he spoke suddenly. "Can I borrow a pen? I completely forgot to bring one."

"Oh," Aria said. "Yeah, um, of course," She handed him the pen in her hand, and turned to examine his face – to say he wasn't attractive would just be a lie, but on top of all of that, something about him was just so familiar. It was as if she had seen him before, once upon another time, or at least, seen another version of him (if that was even possible).

"Thanks," He took it with a smile, before stopping. "I'm Wes, by the way."

Aria nodded. "Aria."

He gave her a smile, somewhat triumphant, and then they both turned back to work.

* * *

"Where were you?" asked Aria blankly as she entered the Hastings' household.

"Hey, that was my question!" Spencer laughed.

"No, but I was at school, and you weren't," Aria crossed her arms.

"Oh, I was at school," nodded Spencer. "But I had a headache, and after receiving that invitation from Jenna, it turned into a blown-out migraine, so I bailed."

"What invitation?" Aria propped up an eyebrow. In response, Spencer passed her a small beige envelope sealed with some red wax – she opened it up, only to see a birthday party invitation. "Well, sorry, Jenna, but I'm not going."

Spencer laughed. "Yeah, me neither."

"And Jason won't answer my texts – it's not like he's mad at me for buying him grocer—"

"You bought Jason groceries?" asked Spencer incredulously.

"No!" exclaimed Aria. "I just bought him… a few packed lunches – two sandwiches. I mean, you should have seen the look he gave me!"

Spencer tutted, "Well, he's your boyfriend, Aria, he's not a baby squirrel."

"Just trying to do the right thing," mumbled Aria

"Nuh-uh – totally wrong. Trust me, I've been there, done that," said Spencer. "Every time you baby squirrel Jason, you're taking away his nuts." Spencer seemed to regret what she said the moment the words were out, and she winced, as if something sour had exploded on her tongue.

"You did… _not_ just say that," Aria started.

"I did," Spencer said, and she looked down at her nose. "But I don't think I meant to."

Aria's phone rang, and she checked to see who the caller was: _Jason_.

"Is that Em?" asked Spencer, from behind her laptop.

Aria shook her head, and mouthed, "Jason."

Spencer laughed. "Did he find his nuts?"

Aria rolled her eyes. "Ha."

" _Hello_?"

"Hi," Aria said. "Everything okay?"

" _Well, yeah… but I got… an invitation_ ," Jason paused. " _From Jenna Marshall, I think. I mean, I was just walking out of my office, and she handed me an envelope, telling me that she 'hoped I would come'. Okay, so what do I do now, Aria?"_

"Um…" Aria started – she really, really wasn't sure. "Just bear with me – I'll talk to you later," She heard Jason mumble an "okay", and she hung up and turned to Spencer, panic arising in her throat. "Jenna invited Jason to her party. What. On. Earth?"

Spencer, too, seemed speechless, and she slowly raised her eyebrows. "Well… I am officially scared of what this party will come to."

"I'm not going," declared Aria. "Repeat: _I am not going_."

* * *

Jason had finished his counselling at school, and was walking to his car, when he first got the message (later on, he'd call this moment 'the sheer shock of life', because what this would come to would mark the end of a lot of things).

It was a call, harmless in all, from Caleb.

And so, still harmless in all, he answered it.

"Hello? Caleb?" Jason asked.

" _Good, you answered, because I need to tell you something,"_ Caleb replied. " _Urgently. Can you… can you meet me at my cabin. Now?"_

Jason nodded slowly, and drew his next words out slowly. "Sure, I'll be over right away."

(Yes – very, very, very harmless.)

He arrived at Caleb's in a matter of minutes, and knocked on his door, hoping to seem patient. (He wasn't, evidently.)

Caleb didn't waste a minute to start telling him what he needed to – "A. A's back."

Jason opened his mouth, before immediately shutting it again. The he opened it – " _Wh-what_? How… how do you know this?"

"Simple, isn't it?" Caleb closed the door behind Jason, and gestured him to move on forward. "This – this is what I managed to get off Mona when I visited her, and she went all _wham_ on me." He passed him a small note of paper.

 **M. A. Y. A K. N. E. W.  
M. A. S. S. S. U. G. A. R.**

There were red circles around the A's – Jason stared at it in disbelief. Perhaps he was just overwhelmed by the feeling of A still out there (the person who _murdered_ her sister), or maybe it was just because he'd realised that Aria had been lying to him for… one bloody hell of a long time.

"It's what Hanna was going to tell me," Caleb said. "A ran my mom off my road."

"A's got Ali's body," Jason said, and he buried his face in his hands. "This is so _messed up_."

"So Mona – she's still A," Caleb said.

"Is she?" Jason asked rhetorically. "But she's been locked in the nuthouse for so long – and if anything, she'd have gotten help. Radley's locked pretty tight, and I doubt she can just… jump out the window whenever she wants to send these… _cryptic_ … messages," He stopped again. "I gave $50,000 to help A. I thought… _damn it_."

"Wait, what?" Caleb looked at him with crossed eyebrows. "You mean, you went ahead with the poster regardless of what the girls told you?"

"Yes," Jason nodded. "And… _fuck_." Pause. "Does Toby know about this?"

"He won't answer my calls," sighed Caleb. "So do you know what to do?"

"Nope," Jason answered immediately. "We're just stuck in a hole, with no freaking way out."

More pauses. Pause. Pause. Pause.

* * *

Each day passed, getting more unbearable by the second – he wanted to confront Aria, he really did, but if he did so, then everything would blow up in their faces, because _he_ lied, too. He wanted to confront Spencer, but the result, it would be the same.

It all seemed so much clearer now – when Aria was talking about something, and she carefully avoided anything going down the A path – Jason knew what she was going on about, and it scared him, it really did.

It was the same with Spencer – this new _April Rose_ she was talking about – how she seemed to want him to know who she was – Jason knew that it wasn't because she was just _interested_ ; it was obviously because of something that A or even Garrett left her as a tip.

No, he didn't know who or what April Rose was, but he knew that A was back.

Jason examined his list – his sudden invitation from Jenna (which he ever so politely declined) had made him maybe think that the blind-not-blind girl was part of it. And Lucas' little fiasco only the week before had made him reconsider, too.

* * *

"The N.A.T Club," Spencer suddenly brought up as they sat in their normal seats on the bench. "April Rose – was she a girl you maybe fil—"

"Look, _I_ never filmed anyone. I never made any of those vide—"

"Yeah, but you watched them," she interrupted. "No? No one called April Rose you remember?"

Jason shook his head. "You know how high I was most of the time – there's no way I would remember," He paused for a second. "But if I do remember anything, I'll call you as soon as possible." And then he was off, his head spinning – he got into his car, his head still going on walk-abouts as he tried, genuinely _tried_ to remember an _April Rose_.

* * *

 _"You two are like peas in a pod," Jason remarked as he saw his girlfriend huddled up in the corner with Alison. "Really – exactly the same."_

 _Alison rolled her eyes, wept her blonde hair back, and picked up her handbag. "We're going shopping."_

 _Jason raised his eyebrows. "CeCe, remember not to buy the_ whole _of Belgium for her this time. The girl's spoiled enough." Alison only crossed her arms, and walked straight past him, tugging CeCe with her._

 _CeCe gave him something in between an apologetic look and a smirk. "Chill, Jason – we're just going down to the old_ April Rose _– all they sell are old hankies and figurines." And then they were off._

* * *

April Rose wasn't a girl; April Rose was a _shop_. Jason opened his car door to get out, but saw that Spencer was no longer sitting on that bench. With his heart racing with something quite undistinguishable, Jason started the car again, and drove down the high street, all the way to Spencer's.

He knocked on the door a few time, simultaneously searching up _April Rose_ on his phone.

"Jason! You found something?" Spencer asked as soon as he arrived – she, too, seemed to have only come home a few minutes before, for she was still in her coat, holding her car keys. "Jason? Jason? Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his face.

"April Rose is a shop, not a girl," was all Jason said. He then showed her what he had searched up: _April Rose_ , _5 Burden Grove_ , _Pennsylvania_.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Spencer exclaimed, and she pulled Jason towards her car, driving on the moment they were in. It was so silent; the sound of a heart beating was the loudest thing in the car. They stared out in front of them in more silence, because they knew that this could very well be the end of this mess, and they didn't want to ruin such a moment.

"We're here," Spencer started. "I think."

"Yeah," Jason nodded, and slowly, they got out, walking down the grove, looking for _April Rose._

When they finally found it, they were reluctant to enter, but with two quick breaths, they bust the door in, only to be welcomed by the sweet, sweet smell of the elderly. An old grandma was rocking silently on an armchair by the counter, and Jason and Spencer wondered if she was the shopkeeper. The place was more or less deserted, but they looked around all the same, even if they had not the faintest idea what they were looking for.

Jason and Spencer parted, looking into the shop with a more artful eye – Jason looked back at his half-sister, and as he passed the china plates and old sewing machines, he wondered if she – or anyone else, for that matter – would tell him the truth.

"Jason!"

Jason whipped his head around, and saw Spencer pointing towards an old mannequin by the entrance. Nodding, Jason swiftly made his way to the front, seeing Spencer holding a bracelet in her red handkerchief.

"This is it?" queried Jason.

Spencer nodded vehemently. "I'm sure of it," She held the bracelet up high for better lighting, and that's when Jason saw each charm dangling, a moon, a star, a rose – and that's when he realised how desperate his sister was, grasping onto answers and evidence like it was her life-blood. That was what A made them do – Aria, Hanna, Emily, all of them – and he didn't blame them, he really didn't, because deep inside, he was exactly the same, thriving for answers, living on questions and dirty, dirty lies.

"Excuse me?" Jason called out to the old lady still in her slumber. "Hello? Hi?"

"'Afternoon," An old man bustled through, a broom in his hands. "Sorry about her."

"No problem," Spencer said lightly from beside him.

"So we were wondering," started Jason. "how much this bracelet would be."

The man took it from Spencer's hands and took at inspecting it. His confusion was fairly evident, his eyebrows creasing, his mouth twitching. "I – I can't sell this to you, I'm sorry."

"Why not?" Spencer said, beating Jason to the punch.

The shopkeeper only shook his head. "I've never seen this before in my life. I'm awfully sorry, but it's not… it's not for sale."

"$200," Jason challenged, and yet the man shook his head in a hopeless manner. "Then… four hundred dollars," He ignored Spencer's incredulous stare. "We'll pay four hundred dollars for that bracelet."

He seemed hesitant, but delighted all the same, and he held out his hand for Jason to shake. He nodded, and gestured to the counter.

* * *

" _Four hundred_ dollars!" Spencer exclaimed as they left the shop, the charm bracelet packed safely away in bubble wrap. "Have you gone _mad_? We didn't just pay _$400_ for a stupid charm bracelet."

Jason shrugged. "Techinally, _I_ bought it. I bought it because this might actually be an end to things."

Spencer opened and closed her mouth in a goldfish expression, and sighed loudly. "You're right. Maybe this _will_ be the end of things." The scariest part was that Jason could hear that double meaning through her words.

"We should turn this in," Jason spoke.

"You're right. We should," Spencer nodded, and they made their way to the Rosewood PD. It was already quite dark, for searching took longer than expected, but they arrived all the same. "I'm not going to go in."

"What?" Jason exclaimed. "Well, neither am I."

"Don't you get it, Jason?" said Spencer, and she placed the bracelet wrapped tightly in bubble wrap and paper in the post box in front of the station. "A tip. An _anonymous_ tip."

* * *

Aria walked down the high street with a bag of _Lucky Leon's_ in her hand, on the way back home. It was rather dark – too dark for her liking, so she decided to hurry her pace just a little bit.

"Taking a study break?" a voice from behind said, causing her to stop her tracks.

"Wh-who is it?"

"Me," the voice carried on.

Aria turned around, only to be left face to face with the guy she lent a pencil to, a few days back. "Wes. Hi. What are you doing here? Were you—" Aria stopped, and looked around at the emptiness. "—did you follow me here?"

"I wouldn't put it that way," he said. "I just wanted to say hi. Couldn't miss the opportunity, you know."

"Oh," Aria said. "Okay then, so... hi."

"Hi."

"Um… bye?" Aria asked, more herself, than him.

Wes nodded, and walked off, leaving Aria to stare down at the ground, more than just puzzled. Shrugging it off, Aria walked home as if nothing had happened.

 _Buzz buzz. Buzz buzz._

"For fuck's sake," Aria muttered under her breath as she flipped out her phone to check the message. _With attachment_. Wide-eyed and utterly chilled, Aria clicked on the _open_ option. The picture, the picture is blank – it was _still fucking loading_. Aria groaned, half a mind to throw her phone down the drain.

Finally, it had loaded.

Aria squinted, and moved towards the lamppost to see the picture more carefully. It was the poster, as Aria could see, from maybe a week or so before, when Jason went all crazy about finding Alison's body. Right on top of that picture of her, there was a pad of notes – from the inner eye, Aria could see that it made up a fair sum.

She shook her head again, wondering what it meant, and instead opened the text message.

 **Thanks, J. Really appreciate it.  
—A**

No. No, no, no. Jason wouldn't…

Aria turned back around and ran to Jason's house. Thoughts were all over the place – A had a lot of money up his/her/the bitch's sleeve, and this was just purely a joke… right?

"Jason?" The house was dark, and Aria knocked on the door several times, hoping this wouldn't be like before, when he blown-out blanked her. She knocked again, until she gave the conclusion that he wasn't home.

She wasn't sure how long she waited – for a long, long time, at least.

"Aria?" Jason walked into the front porch. "Why didn't you go inside?"

Aria could have face palmed herself – of course, his selective memory – his key was where she was directly sitting, so why _didn't_ she? She was too nervous, obviously – nervous for what he did, what he knew.

"Did you give anyone fifty thousand grand?" asked Aria suddenly as she regained herself. "Did you?"

"What the hell—"

"Just answer the question, Jason," Aria said, and she flinched as he came near. "Did you, or did you not give someone that reward in return for information on the whereabouts of Alison's body?" The way she was talking, she thought she was quite like Wilden, or some other interrogator.

"Aria."

"So you did," Aria said. "You did."

"Aria, I was going to—"

"So all this time, you've been _lying_ to me?" Three steps – three steps was what she took, towards him, then one backwards as he started to speak, then one advanced as she interrupted him. Catching people out on a lie – it wasn't meant to feel like _this_ , it was supposed to make you feel salient, and _good_ , but this played out the opposite effect. Aria just wanted to go down, and down, and down, and just disappear from the face of the earth. She felt powerless. She felt trod on, all over again.

"Aria—"

" _Don't_!" she exclaimed.

"Don't what?" he intercepted. "I'm not doing anything."

"Yeah, well, you _lied_."

"And so did you."

Silence. Pause. Pause.

Aria looked at her boyfriend, examining his face – was he bluffing, or _did he know about A_? This wasn't happening – no, Jason _couldn't_ have found out.

"When were you going to tell me A was back?" he asked defiantly.

"When were you going to tell me you were _trusting_ these stupid Rosewood _frauds_ ," she shot back, with equal defiance. Currently, she resembled a fire cracker – one wrong move and she'd explode. Jason had already made all the wrong moves, lost all the points, but looking over, she'd done just the same.

"Aria, _A_ —"

"How do you even _know_ about A?"

"It doesn't matter," Jason said quickly.

" _It doesn't matter_ ," she mimicked. " _Yes_ , Jason, it matters. It _matters_. I—" Aria sprinted off, and Jason tried to catch up, but he, too, was too angry, and let her go.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been running for, but she panted as she reached the end of yet another street, at yet another buzz of her phone.

 **Don't you know that my brother isn't the forgiving one?  
—A**

* * *

 **That's right – say hello to Wesley Fitz. That's a nice love triange, isn't it?**

 **Reviews? Don't miss out on the virtual cookies! {::} {::}**


	22. Old Habits Die Hard

**_Guest_ : There will be no cheating, I assure you – you won't see much of Wesria in this season – he'll come into play later, when… Okay, I will stop there ;)**

* * *

 **old habits die hard**

* * *

 _things will never change_  
 _but our hearts will always separate_  
 _forget about you_  
 _forget about this time_  
 ** _— hurts_**

* * *

Her anger had long subsided, and now, sitting on the edge of her bed with her face in her hands, Aria started to think about _how the fuck Jason knew_. A loved to take the back seat and watch everything happen as each and everyone blew up with their own problems, so Aria highly doubted that A had just straight out told him, from a text, a note – _whichever_.

Then, the anger returned, and Aria found herself balling her fists at the thought of Jason lying to her, and the thought that he just _didn't_ care. Then, it left again only to be replaced with guilt, because Jason, harmless Jason, had been lied to, likewise, and had been lied to for a very long time.

 _Stupid A,_ she groaned to herself as she slammed herself down onto the pillow, grasping at the sheets, _stupid stupid stupid A with its stupid stupid stupid ways and stupid stupid stupid stupid—_

"Aria, honey, is everything okay?"

Aria looked up from her pillow, to see her mother standing by the frame of her door. She bounced up onto her feet almost the moment she caught sight of her, and attacked her with a hug, because god damn had she missed her mom.

Ella looked down at Aria, and smoothed her hair down, kissing her forehead. "So… will you answer my question now?" Aria shrugged, and looked away. "Aria… If you think you can hide from this, then think again, because I am your mother, and I know you better than anyone else in this world."

Aria shrugged again, but looked up. "I just…" She stopped herself, and slumped down onto her bed again. "We had a fight. Jason. And I."

Eyeing her with concern, Ella took the empty space next to her daughter, and made her look deep into her eyes. "What kind of fight?"

"A fight," started Aria. "in which he lied, and I lied, and things just went—" Aria paused and racked her brain for the right word. "— _bang_."

Ella got hold of Aria's hand, and sighed heavily. "I'm probably the last person you would want to come to if you want dating advice, but... but just remember that if two people love each other enough, they should fight for it."

Aria nodded slowly, but then shook her head immediately afterwards. "But I'm just so _angry_. And I really don't want to be, with everything he's going through but... I guess you're right."

Ella smiled at her weakly. "You should talk to him."

Aria nodded again, this time more whole-heartedly. "Thanks, mom." Ella answered by pressing yet another kiss onto Aria's forehead, and then she left her in peace.

Aria groaned as she lay back, propped against her pillow, swirling her bracelet around in her hand. She didn't want to talk to Jason, regardless of what her mother and mind were telling her, she just... didn't.

At some point, Aria must have fallen asleep, because at some point, she woke up, her back aching, and her head pounding. Glad it was a Sunday, Aria rubbed her eyes slowly, and that was when the memories started rushing back in.

And there was the guilt again. All lovely, in disguise.

Then, her phone buzzed.

 **At the Brew.  
** **—Emily**

And wasn't she just so glad that it was Emily, and not anyone else.

* * *

"Hey," Aria remarked as she entered the Brew – it had come a bit of habit, meeting up with them here. It did have some significant meaning, though, she guessed. Aria walked up to Spencer and Emily, who were talking around a table, and realised that Hanna was, more or less, absent. "Is Hanna not coming?"

"No," Emily shook her head. "She said something about 'Wilden', though."

"Oh," Aria said. Wilden was never a good sign, but she decided not to interfere. She stopped, and looked around at her best friends, and thought this was probably the best time to bring up Jason knowing about A. They had done their best to hide things from Toby, and Paige, and Jason – if Jason knew, then there was a large possibility that they did, too. "I don't know if Toby, or Paige, or anyone else knows, but—"

"...Trust me, you're always better of with a _really_ good lie."

Another voice, coming from beyond them, startled them, causing them to walk up, closer towards where exactly and who exactly it was.

"You know," started Aria. "That sounded a lot like—"

"Alison," they all finished, and peered at the person, who they now distinguished as a girl, one with curly blonde locks resting against her back, who sounded all too well like a person they all too well knew.

The girl seemed to feel their presence, because she looked around, and caught their eye. She eyed them all with confusion, but recovered majorly with a sweet smirk. "Can I... help you?"

"No, no," Aria said quickly. "You just sound... _really_ like this girl we knew."

"Bet she's wonderful," smiled the girl.

"She was," Emily nodded instantly.

"What was her name?" the girl asked.

"Alison," Spencer said this time. "Alison DiLaurentis."

The girl's face remained unreadable for a few seconds, until it seemed like realisation had dawned on her, as she had no completely turned around and devoted her attention to them all. "Oh," she started. "You're Alison's friends."

"You know her?" Aria butt in.

She nodded. "I'm CeCe Drake, by the way," CeCe's eyes travelled across Aria, then Emily, then Spencer. "Did she ever talk about me?" The girls shook their heads, and CeCe smiled to herself. "She talked about you." Pause. "About all of you."

"How... how did you know Ali?" questioned Spencer.

"Oh," CeCe smiled again. "We go way back. Our families both rented cabins off in Cape May that summer, and what an intense one it was. Dated her brother, Jason—"

At this, Aria's ears perked up, and it seemed like Spencer's ones did, too, because she asked, "You dated Jason?"

"Uhuh," CeCe said matter-of-factly, and then she turned to Aria, in particular. "Problem?"

"No," Aria said quickly – maybe almost too quickly.

CeCe grinned. "Look, I hate to make tracks, but I've got to dash." She turned to Aria again. "If you're in need of any free shopping, then... I'm all here."

Aria squinted at her. "I think you're talking about Hanna?"

"Oh," CeCe said, in a voice almost surprised. "Well... okay."

* * *

He'd been running around in circles, through and out each park, winding around the trees, stopping ever so often to look over his utterly screwed-up life. Aside from his and Aria's fight yesterday, he had even more on his plate, because Garrett was now completely free of charges. He'd not only helped A, by giving whoever it was fifty grand, but now he'd helped his ex-best friend, his sister's killer, out of prison. Just like that.

And wasn't it just so screwed up?

"Jason! Hey! Jason!"

Jason turned around, only to see Spencer run towards him. She slowed down as he did, and he gave her the weakest of smiles. "Hey, Spence."

"Hi," She smiled back. "I thought you'd be at the courts or something."

"Well, I figured that I'd hurt less people if I didn't," he said, the bitterness re-lacing his words – unintentionally, of course, but that was just the way it was. He felt bitter, and he would probably carry on feeling bitter, for... for a long time, to say the least. "From trying to be the hero, I'm back to being the huge screw-up."

"Hey, nobody thinks that!" Spencer exclaimed, and she looked away from him. "Look, I'm sorry. If I knew that that was what was going to happen, I'd never have brought you into this. I'm sorry, I really am. This was never about—"

Jason stifled a laugh. "Throwing my words back at me?" He paused. "It's not your fault, okay? We both did something pretty stupid, but that's that. We can't turn back time."

Spencer nodded. "No turning back time." She then stopped, which caused Jason to stay, because he wondered what she would say. "We saw CeCe Drake today, you know. Did you know she was back?"

His eyebrows creased, and he stared at her incredulously. " _What_? She's back?"

"Apparently."

"'We' as in...?"

"Emily, Aria, and myself."

"Aria?" Jason repeated. "Damn it – so now I have to deal with both our fight yesterday, _and_ this?"

"What happened yesterday? You two had a fight? What?" Spencer bleated.

Jason shook his head. "It's a long, long, complicated story, that you probably don't want to hear." Telling Spencer that he knew that A was still behind them, making tracks, would _completely_ throw them off course, and he'd made enough bad moves for a lifetime.

"She said you went through an _intense_ summer," said Spencer.

"Well," Jason scoffed. "Everything with CeCe was intense."

With CeCe back, Jason could guarantee that things would go crazy.

"Jason," Spencer said. "I'm still sorry, you know."

"Me too," Jason agreed, and in a firmer voice, said, "but it's in the past. Maybe Garrett being let out is for the, um, best... Maybe it really isn't him. You know?" Spencer nodded at him, and took his hand, squeezing it quickly. "I'll see you later, then?"

Jason turned around, only to be stopped by a vibration coming from his back pocket.

 **Yes, Jason. I'm back :)  
** **—CeCe**

 _Fuck_.

* * *

Aria took her mom's advice, because she wasn't ready to lose Jason. Not yet. (Not ever.)

She checked for his key, under his mat, and slowly unlocked the door. Now that she knew that Jason knew about everything had made her re-examine things – there was her needing to be careful; there was her needing to make sure that he didn't get hurt.

"Aria?"

Aria cleared her throat and closed her eyes. "Y-yes."

He walked to her, and he, too, cleared his throat. "Hi."

"Hi."

"So..."

"So..."

(An aeon later.)

"I'm sorry," Aria burst out, because that was all she could think of saying. "I overreacted, I guess, but... but I just didn't _understand_ why you lied, and I got angry, even if I was being so damn hypocritical – I was just so... _angry_ , because I didn't _understand_."

"I'm sorry," Jason pressed. "I'm sorry, too."

Aria smiled weakly. "Truce?"

Jason laughed, nodded, and took her hands. "On one condition."

Aria's smile faltered, but she looked him deep in the eye, and didn't have to ask to know what this 'condition' was.

"You... tell me everything," Jason said. "And I mean _everything_."

So she did, as far as _everything_ could get.

She told him about how it all started, on a few days before school started – the day in which Ali's body went missing. She carefully wound her words away from Emily being right there, at the grave – an empty one, might she add – with a shovel in her hands. Aria evaded the photographs that A had somehow taken of 'that night', and how they had returned to Mona's old lair to triple check everything – namely, the pictures of the Black Swan (and still were they uncovering _that_ mystery), which had all miraculously disappeared. She told him about the fearful necklace which they thought were made of her bones, and then she told him about everything else – like before, as far as _everything_ could get.

"Now," Aria said. "Two conditions."

"Okay..." Jason said, raising his eyebrows.

"You can tell me how you even know that A is back," she said.

Jason sighed, and looked out, past her, into the window, and then he looked back, securing a withholding gaze at Aria. "Caleb told me. And I don't know how he knows, but he does." Jason, too, avoided any word about the A note that Caleb managed to fish off Mona. "And so I waited. For you, or any of the others, to tell me the truth."

Aria knew that this was a truce they were holding, but she couldn't help but notice the hints of accusatory built up high through each word. "Yeah – likewise."

"Aria, I was never accusing you," Jason said. "I was just saying."

"Likewise," repeated Aria.

She sighed – as far as she knew, this was the worst 'truce' ever to go down in history. It wasn't meant to be like this, fighting, arguing, disagreeing.

"Who's CeCe Drake?" asked Aria, all of a sudden.

"What?" Jason spluttered (mainly because it worked nicely as a delay).

"Don't act dumb, Jason," Aria rolled her eyes. "CeCe. As in, your _ex-girlfriend_."

"Oh," Jason blushed. "Well, you obviously know who she is, then. My _ex-girlfriend_."

"Don't avoid the question."

"I'm not. You just answered it yourself."

"I'm going."

"I – what?"

Aria left without another glance, just running, and running away – like yesterday, like countless times before, because some things were better left like that. Her own words echoed through her head, and she tried to get herself to stop, like before, when she told Jason that running away from his problems would never be the answer. She ran, more and more, down the road until she was breathless, until her eyes watered with the pain, and the upset.

 _And the Worst Truce In History Award goes to..._

She ran to Hanna's, tears rolling down her face like they were born to. She ran to Hanna's, because _Caleb_ was why Jason knew. She knocked hard, once, twice, then three times. She knocked, and as soon as it opened, she almost shouted, "Caleb! Caleb knows!"

It wasn't Hanna at the door: it was Mrs Marin.

Aria cleared her throat, and immediately wiped her tears, regaining herself. "Um... h-hello, Mrs Marin. Good mor – afternoon."

Ashley smiled at her. "Aria, are you okay?" _That's the second... no third time someone's asked me that today_ , thought Aria, but she nodded absentmindedly, and hopefully – god, hopefully – convincingly. She wasn't in the mood for yet another eye.

"Is Hanna in?"

Ashley nodded, and pointed up the stairs. "She's up there."

Aria gave her a brave smile, and made for the steps, only stopped by Mrs Marin again – "Aria, you can tell me, you know, if anything's wrong."

"I'm fine," Aria brushed it off. "Really. I just need to find Hanna."

Aria bust into Hanna's room, and saw her already on her way out. Aria narrowed her eyes at her, confused, because Hanna rarely left the house any more.

"Hey!" Hanna smiled, and dropped her bags.

"Hey," Aria replied feebly.

"Okay," Hanna said, and looked her in the eye. "I sense something. You're not okay, are you?"

A sob escaped Aria and as it rattled through her body, Aria let out a strangled, "No." Hanna pulled Aria in for a hug, and kissed the top of her head, rocking her gently, as if she would break any second (maybe she would).

"What happened?"

"Jason happened," Aria said. "It's something that happened yesterday, which we just resolved, and then... dissolved. And I'm confused, because I think that..." She stopped, and face palmed herself – oh, what the hell? " _Jason knows about A_."

To say Hanna seemed surprised was an understatement, so Aria opted that it would be best if she didn't tell her Caleb was the reason Jason knew in the first place. Instead, she watched Hanna, as her face fell, and a hundred different emotions took place.

"The rest is a long, long, complicated story, which you probably don't want to hear," Aria said quickly, because she really didn't want to lie again – especially not to _Hanna_ , of all people. Aria gestured at the bags she had been holding, and asked, "So where are you off to, then?"

Hanna looked skeptical, but in the end, answered, "Radley."

" _Radley_."

"Radley," she nodded. "Because I want more answers. Mona's still playing, I know it."

* * *

In a matter of moments (for that was how long it seemed), they were at Radley, hidden away in a 'disguise', hoping to bamboozle Mona. Maybe they'd finally get some answers. Maybe. Just maybe (meaning, no, probably not). They learned not to expect as much, though.

Hanna and Aria entered normally, even if they knew that this was not, in any way, going to be a normal visit.

"Mona Vanderwaal," Hanna said to the receptionist, and an escort took them along to the room where Mona was held captive. She seemed to be on her bed, mindlessly combing through a doll's hair – in a way, it was disturbing, but they ignored it, and let the door shut behind them.

"Mona," Aria cleared her throat.

"Mona," repeated Hanna.

And Mona spoke.

* * *

 **How does it feel, Jason, to be part of everything, yet be part of nothing?  
** **—A**

"Fuck A," groaned Jason, as he sat on his porch, looking out into the distance. "Just fuck A."

He gave up, and went inside.

* * *

" _Miss Aria, you're a killer, not Ezra's wife_."

Hanna and Aria exchanged a look as Mona began to speak, still brushing the doll's hair. Her voice seemed raspy, and unused, yet it chilled them all the same, because in all, it was all very much A.

"Mona, we need you to tell us—"

"—who's been hurting us."

" _Miss Aria, you're a killer, not Ezra's wife_."

Aria shook her head, and decided that this was not going to get very far. Mona's words she recited in her head, and it confused her why Ezra was all suddenly in this.

* * *

Jason looked at a picture.

It was one of Alison, he thought maybe it was from when she was seventh or eighth grade. He stared into the picture, examining it with great detail, catching the tiniest of things – how her freckles were heart-shaped, how they lined up, just on her right cheekbone. How her dimples appeared only on her left cheek; how her lips were in a proper smile – not a smirk, or some ridiculous Ali-charmed grin. It was just a smile.

And it was beautiful. Ali, his Ali, his sister. Who was dead. Gone. _Murdered_.

* * *

" _Where were we_?"

Hanna snapped, "Well, you were going to tell us who A was, weren't you?"

Mona interrupted with, " _Maya's away sleeping sweet; until Garrett's all rosy, count on me_."

Once again, Hanna stole a glance at Aria, who was equally perplexed – first Ezra, and now Maya and Garrett, too? What Mona was saying made zero sense to them, but they both knew that, coming from an ex-A (possibly a current one, too), this would come and bite them in the ass somehow, just like the truth always, always did.

A had a tendency of doing that.

* * *

Jason didn't understand what happened next, but one second he was on the verge of tears as he looked so intently at Alison's picture, and the next he was off on the high road, with a blurry mind, and equally blurry eyes.

Everything was going in—

 _S-l-o-w._

 _M-o-t-i-o-n_.

(Andthenfastagain.)

* * *

" _No one to save Ali from evil_."

One last look, and they decided that this was not going to be the end, but only the beginning of yet another joyride of mysteries, and _fun_ _fun_ _fun_.

Mona stopped dead short, collapsed down onto her bed, her doll dropping on the floor with a loud _bang_.

So they left.

As they walked out of the creepy old gates, Aria felt buzz, and then buzz a few times more. She opened it up, and realising the caller was Spencer, returned it.

"Hello?"

" _Aria_!" Spencer's voice sounded urgent. " _You need to come quickly_."

Aria looked across to Hanna, who seemed to be lost in her own world, nibbling hard on her lip like she had to live for it.

"Why?" questioned Aria.

" _It's Jason_ ," said Spencer, and her voice seemed pained. " _He was drunk, and in a car accident. He's completely fine, but I still think you should_ —"

"Wh-what?" exclaimed Aria, completely stopping her tracks, even making Hanna jump. Hanna looked at her in concern, and Aria almost dropped her phone. Jason. Car accident. Drunk. "I... I... okay." And she hung up.

"What's wrong?" asked Hanna.

"It's Jason," Aria said. "God, he's so _stupid_."

* * *

Aria entered Jason's house in full panic mode. She looked over, and saw Spencer by him, as he sat, emotionless, staring out into air.

"Jason," Aria said. "Jason, are you okay?"

"Justice," was all she could hear him say. "Justice. That's the only thing I need in this town – fucking justice."

* * *

 **So, I'm on kind of a roll at the moment, with the updating, but I'm in that celebratory mood, because exams are over (halle-fucking-luja), and I want to hurry this story up a bit :)**

 **Looking over, this is probably the 'angstiest' chapter so far. And then I think about all the things that will happen in the later chapters. *insert evil laugh***


	23. No Truths and All Lies

**This chapter carries on from the moment the last one ended. Jason and Aria's ongoing sort-of fight will be resolved fairly soon, I'm sure of it, but remember what I said** – **the angst is yet to come ;)**

* * *

 **no truths and all lies**  
 **(or, "just a story i've got to tell")**

* * *

 _tell me pretty lies_  
 _look me in the face_  
 _tell me that you love me_  
 _even if it's fake_  
 _ **— blackbear**_

* * *

(Just turn the page and then you'll see.)

"Jason," Aria pressed on, trying to get him to speak – he only, like before, stared out as if no one was trying to do anything; as if no one ever would. And in that sense, he was vulnerable – more vulnerable than she had ever seen him as. "Jason, please talk to me. Jason. _Jason_."

"It's all wrong – the world, it's all so fucking _wrong_ ," he gabbled on, making no sense whatsoever, fumbling on his words and laughing at random points. "And Rosewood is so screwed up they just don't _understand_ , do they? They might as well..."

"Jason!" Aria exclaimed.

" _What_?" For the first time since she had first come over, Jason looked into her eyes, and finally acknowledged her existence. He stared into her eyes, but didn't say one word. "The world is full of bullshit. And lies. And lies, lies, lies. Like how you lied to me about A – that was funny. Wasn't it?" He didn't turn to Spencer, who looked at the two with utter perplexity.

"Jason, not here," Aria pressed on. "You're drunk, and we need to sober you up before you get some wicked hangover." When Jason didn't budge, Aria pulled him up with force, in which Jason pulled back down, out of her grasp.

"I lied, too, and I get that you have the right to be angry with me," Jason carried on, and Aria couldn't help but listen, even though she really, really didn't want to – not again. "If I say that I gave the money so we could find out who A was would be a lie, because I didn't know _then_ , but I did it because of..." Jason groaned. " _Fucking justice_!"

"I kept it from you to keep you _safe_ ," Aria exclaimed.

He scoffed, and that was enough to make Aria walk off, shaking her head, while fighting back the urge to cry.

* * *

Aria was woken up by the sound of her phone vibrating on her bedside table. Granted that sunlight seeped in and almost blinded her, she presumed it was morning – she groaned, and tossed and turned, before finally reaching out to answer the call.

"Hello?" she said, still groggy from pre-sleep.

" _Ari_? _Is that you_?"

Aria was too tired for sarcasm, so she murmured, "Yes, it's me. Han, what do you want?"

Hanna sighed, " _You know yesterday, when we visited Mona at Radley. Do you remember what she said_?" Aria did, but Hanna didn't give her much time to answer. " _Just come over quickly – the others wil, too_."

Aria groaned as she hung up, but nevertheless, she got dressed, and headed out the door with some coffee in her hands. She walked to Hanna's house, and almost as soon as the door was answered, Aria was hauled in by Hanna up the stairs, and into her bedroom. When she finally stopped being molested by her best friend, Aria realised that Spencer and Emily were a lready inside, crowded around Hanna's laptop.

Spencer looked up first, and immediately said, "Are you okay? From yesterday? What did you mean by how _Jason knew about_..."

Hanna raised her voice, and Spencer shut up. "When Ali went missing, and I became best friends with Mona... we had this... code. In which we talked in. We took the first letter of every word, and merged it in together." She paused, and brought her laptop closer so they could all see it clearly. She typed in a few letters, while reciting. " _Where. Were. We. Maya's. Away. Sleeping. Sweet. Until. Garret's. All. Rosy. Count. On. Me_." Hanna stopped for a few seconds, before pressing the _enter_ button, and they saw a new website pop up – there was a picture of Maya filling most of the screen, and in the small space left behind was a small box to type in: _What's the magic word?_

"It's a website," Spencer said, staring down at Hanna and her laptop. "Ingenious."

Emily looked away from the screen, but spoke up, "I think I might know what the password could be."

But A was always ten steps ahead of them, anyway.

* * *

Luckily for Jason, he'd drank enough coffee to prevent such of a hangover coming to haunt him in the morning. He hadn't much memory of the night before, but he knew a few things – Spencer had saved him from owing the PD, and now he was more than sure that Aria _hated_ him.

He walked next door, because he owed Spencer, too. An apology – a huge one.

Spencer opened the door on the second knock, and Jason saw that she was not alone. Spencer beckoned him to come on, and Jason saw Toby sitting at the Hastings' table. He waved at him, maybe a little colder than normal, and then looked at Spencer.

"Um... hi?" Jason said, in more of a question.

"Hi," Spencer said coolly. "Toby, can you spare us just a moment?" Toby nodded, and walked off into the other direction, leaving Spencer and Jason to awkwardly shift their feet in the living room. He might have known her for, he didn't even know, six years or so, but it didn't mean the awkwardness would just... go away.

"I just wanted to say... thank you," Jason said, a weak smile of some sorts on his face. Spencer returned the smile, and shrugged, as if it was nothing – no, it was not _nothing_ , because Spencer could very well have just saved his life. "And I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Spencer said. "Can I just ask you something?"

"Sure," said Jason.

"Yesterday, you said something about..." Spencer seemed to have given up on weaving the question around so it wouldn't bite as much. She shook her head, and went straight in – "How do you know? Who told you? _What_ do you know?"

"I don't _know_ anything, apart from the fact that A's back," Jason said.

"I'm – I'm sorry," Spencer started.

"No, you're not," Jason shook his head. "I'm the one who's sorry. Stop saying that – it's not your fault."

The door opened again, and in came Hanna and Emily, followed by Aria, to whom seemed to completely stop everything at the sight of him. She stared at him, and he stared back, and tension seemed to weigh five million tonnes, and then he left.

As he did, Aria walked on in frustration, and opened the fridge, taking out a can of soda – she was barely scathed, she _did not_ care (and she was lying to herself again).

"Is everything okay between the two of you?" asked Emily.

"Nope," Aria said, emphasizing the _p_.

"It might have something to do with him knowing all about A now," said Hanna and Spencer simultaneousy.

At that, Emily widened her eyes, and spluttered, looking around frantically. "I – _what_? What did the... What on... What the _fuck_?"

"Caleb told him," Aria simply stated, and she spared a look at Hanna, who looked back at her, and then outside, and then at the other door, where Toby had just come in.

"Toby, can you go?" Spencer asked. "For now." Toby rolled his eyes, but nodded, before waving at the other girls, taking his stuff to leave the house. "Good. So now we can talk properly – _Caleb_ told Jason about A?"

Aria nodded. "That's what he told me. But then we kept this... barrier. He refused to tell me anymore... and likewise." She then groaned – this was getting more messed up by the second.

* * *

Days and days passed like an asteriod orbiting, and then crashing, because that's really all Aria did – think, think until her world spun around, and then she crashed, when she _gave up_. She wanted to talk through things with Jason, she really did, because she positively hated the position they were in now, worse than they were before their alleged 'truce'.

Looking at an upside, Caleb, recruited by Spencer (as agreed by Hanna), had almost finished cracking Maya's secret website. The girls hadn't questioned him anymore, because this was already so freaking twisted that if Caleb ran away, they'd probably have nothing left.

Then back at a downside – Jason and Aria could have very well been 'broken up', looking at how they were acting now. It was rather childish, but Aria was stubborn, and Jason was stubborn, and that stubborness would get them nowhere, but they couldn't help being like mice, because that was just who they were.

And top of all _that_ , there was CeCe Drake, beautiful, beautiful, sophisticated CeCe, who Jason used to date. Aria wondered how long they'd been together for, and if Jason still did feel anything for her. Damn, just the thought wanted her to scream, and shout, and just make everything stop.

It didn't help that she was currently _holding_ hands with her, on the way to some college party.

It started off with Spencer (but then again, things usually did), and she was whining and whining about not getting her UPenn form for some early admission thing on time – Aria had tried to act like she was sympathetic, because she knew that her best friend's dream since nappy stage was to attend the University of Pennsylvania, Ivy League, in all its glory.

"There's a Friday night party coming up, you know," CeCe brought up, while sipping her coffee. "I know a guy from the UPenn admissions who will probably be there." Spencer's eyes immediately met CeCe's, and she looked at her with such sincerity it _almost hurt_. CeCe looked down, and suppressed a frown. "Oh, you are not going to stop staring at me like a lost puppy until I say yes, are you?"

Spencer shook her head, and from beside her, Aria rolled her eyes – typical, begging until it worked.

"Do any of you know Jason well?" CeCe then asked, eyeing Aria, for some reason, in particular.

"Yes, Aria's actually–"

"No, not that well," Aria but in. "But yes, we know him. He's Alison's sister."

"Right," CeCe nodded, somewhat unconvincingly. "Well, he's not been answering my calls–"

"He hasn't been answering _anyone's_ calls," Aria muttered under her breath.

"...So if you see him, can you tell him to – it's like the old times. I call, he ignores, and then _he_ calls, and then gets mad at me for not answering. At least he's not a dopehead anymore," CeCe laughed, and Aria took the time to roll her eyes yet again, as Spencer shot her something along the lines of an apologetic look.

Spencer's phone then buzzed, as Aria's mind went walk-abouts, and then she was tapped on the shoulder.

"Aria," Spencer's smile was large. "Caleb's done it – he's in the website."

Aria smiled, too, but fakely, because at the moment, nothing was possibly going to be a able to uplift such a mood. She looked at CeCe, who was laughing on the phone, and then said, "What are we going to do now?"

Spencer shrugged. "Check it out. C'mon, he's going to come to mine to give me the information."

It was around six when Caleb came over to give her the password. Due to it being mid-September, it was pretty dark outside, and the horizon was stretched out with grey, and grey, and grey. It could have been pretty, Aria guessed, if she hadn't been so down in the dumps, but at the moment, nothing seemed remotely pretty to her.

"This is it," Spencer smiled. Hanna let out a fake cheer, and Aria rolled her eyes.

"Watch it," warned Hanna, as she caught on Aria's movement. "When the wind changes, your eyes will stay like that. And then you'd look like a zombie, because you'll have no pupils."

"Han, it's when you make a horrible face does that happen," Aria rolled her eyes again, and looked around to see a Spencer, a Hanna, but no Emily. "Where's Em?" Spencer and Hanna shook their heads. "Maya was Emily's girlfriend, shouldn't she...?"

Spencer turned the laptop around, because she'd done it – they were in the website. It was rather a mess, with a hundred or so videos scattered around, none in any particular order. Spencer clicked around sevral of the videos, some which Emily starred in, some, in which Maya seemed to be talking about deep feelings, and achievements, and how she felt like she was all 'alone'.

"I feel really uncomfortable watching these without Emily," Aria muttered.

"Same," Hanna remarked. "These videos are _way_ out of my comfort zone."

"One more," promised Spencer, and she did just that.

It was Maya, in a beanie, and it looked very dark outside. " _I'm a coward, I know. But I have to face my fears_." Police lights were flashing in one direction, and there seemed to be little _rustle rustle_ noises coming from the other.

And then, the video stopped.

* * *

Friday night wound up quick, like it was just waiting behind that door until it was ready to be let in. Hanna seemed to have confessed to Emily about the whole hacking-in ordeal, which made life a little easier, and Jason was still ignoring Aria (as was she), which made things a hell of a lot more difficult, but like before, she ignored it; they both did.

She'd helped Spencer pick out the perfect outfit, not her mother's blazer, but a chill, cool and causal skirt and ruffle top, with her hair to her side – all _perfect perfect perfect_.

And that's the story of how Aria Montgomery ended up walking to a party, holding hands with CeCe (who, might she add, was her current boyfriend's ex). Nothing felt weird, though, because that comes in _later_.

(Disguised as a game of 'Truth', or whatever the hell that was.)

* * *

Aria straightened her green dress, and adjusted her necklace, as Spencer handed her a cup of, as they hoped, harmless punch.

"You think she's found Steven yet?" asked Spencer.

"No idea," Aria said, with not much expression at all.

Spencer sighed at this. "Jason will come around, sooner or later."

"That's what you told me before," she pointed out.

"Right, and he did. Sooner rather than later," Spencer sat them down on one of the old red couches. "And if you think CeCe's threatening your relationship... Jason loves you more than anything."

"I know," moaned Aria. "But that's not why I'm so... worried... and... I don't even know. It's just the fact that _he knows_ , Spencer, and I don't know how I'm suppposed to face him." She took a sip from her punch, and stared miserably at the ground. "It's worse than the last time. I lied to him, he lied to me, and we should be able to fix that, but... but we can't."

"Hey, you two!" CeCe popped out of nowhere, holding on to this black-haired guy for stability, the same one she'd shown rather a distaste to when they first arrived. She waved at them, and blew them kisses. "Wondered where you'd gone off to! Come on, we're playing a game. And please try and ignore the... indecent people – but it _is_ getting rather hot in here, you know." She paused. "Oh, this is Eric Kahn, by the way."

Aria's eyebrows shot up – so _this_ was Noel's older brother? Well, if he was as jerky and as much as a bastard as his younger brother was, then Aria didn't want anything to do with him. No offence.

Their game of... 'Truth', as they called it, was a very innocent game of tennis, questioning shooting back and forth like sparks in the sky. From getting arrested, to making sex tapes... Aria wasn't so sure if this was where she wanted to be.

Spencer agreed, too, and they made their way to the exit, counting on CeCe to, if she was sober enough by the end of the day, to pass on to Steven the message himself. As they walked towards the steps, they bumped into a very unmistakable Noel Kahn with a very unmistakable Jenna Marshall on his arm.

"Or maybe..." Spencer started, with a glint in her eye that never meant any good.

(And this is when it all ends.)

* * *

Aria sat back down onto the sofa, claiming the seat which CeCe once sat on – they seemed to be doing that a lot, such as _Aria taking the role of Jason's boyfriend_. Noel sat in front of her, claiming his brother's seat.

And then the games began.

His brooding eyes seemed to stare into her soul, and this made Aria question if he still held a grudge from Aria rejecting him over and over again. He was the first to speak, and in the process, eyed CeCe. "How will your _boyfriend_ react when he finds out you're hanging out with his ex?" Aria didn't turn around to see CeCe, but she knew that she was more than just _bewildered out of her freaking mind_.

Aria raised his eyebrows, before narrowing her eyes at him. "How do you even...?" She stopped, and let herself answer. "What if he doesn't know?" She tilted her head. Well, two could play the game, coudn't they? And this was about to get real. "Did you invite Maya St. Germain to any of these parties?"

Noel laughed. "Jesus, you're morbid – this is a party, Aria. Ask me... how many sexual partners I've had."

Aria's tone of voice lowered. "Just answer the question."

"She came to a few – she had an open invite," Noel seemed to be biting the insides of his cheek as he answered. He stopped for several seconds, and looked at her strangely. "What's your type then? Dark, creepy, potential murderers – hey, what about certain _brothers_ of..."

"I don't have one," Aria bit at him – damn, this game was getting tiring. She was right as before – he _did_ still hold a grudge, and a massive one, too. Just as he was about to answer, she intercepted. "It's my turn. How do you know Maya?"

Noel shrugged. "Hot, new girl. _And she likes the ladies_. And she moved into the... _DiLaurentis_ house. Everyone knew Maya." He paused. "Say, what do you think Ali's reaction would be if she ever knew that you and–"

"Why are you such a jerk?" Aria questioned.

"Girl can sure bite," Noel chuckled.

Spencer nudged Aria gently, and exasperated, she replied. "Well, Ali's gone, so how would I know? My turn – where were you the night that Alison's grave was dug up?"

Noel almost spat his drink out in surprise. " _Seriously_? You're really asking me that? I – I don't even remember what night that was."

"Friday night before Labour Day," Spencer gratifyingly contributed.

"I don't... know. I guess I was here," Noel shrugged, somewhat questioningly.

Eric Kahn interrupted – "I can vouch for that. He came, then... showed, and then they left."

Jenna, from beside Noel, gave Eric a threatening glare. "You know I can _see_ now."

"Thanks, Eric," smiled Noel, and if she saw correctly, it was genuine, unlike trademark Noel smirks that only meant two things – he was either going to hit on you, or be one complete jerk. Or both. Who knew?

"Anytime, bro," Eric grinned, and the stopwatch went off. "Time."

Spencer stared down Jenna. "You are _so_ next."

(The Almost End.)

* * *

Aria decided to head back home early, because she was sick of fucking everything. She counted the times she'd phones Jason, and he'd, like always, and as expected, ignored each and every one.

"You know, when Emily told me Jason wasn't singled, I hadn't expected, uh, _you_ to be his girlfriend," CeCe's voice filled the front garden area, and Aria whipped her head around at the sound of her. "I guess he really has changed."

"Oh," was all Aria could think of saying.

"I'd better go back inside," CeCe smiled. "I was just wondering where my little ducking had gone up to. See you later."

"Yeah," mumbled Aria, as she once again started a call to Jason. She watched CeCe leave, and wondered if she liked her or not. It was customary, wasn't it? Hating on ex-girlfriends, but she seemed, in some ways, genuinely nice.

"Well, if it isn't you."

Aria almost dropped her phone at the sound of _yet another voice_. She turned, and almost couldn't put a name to face she was seeing. "W-Wes! You... what are you doing here?"

"I've joined the lacrosse team," he shrugged. "Noel and I are pretty tight. You?"

"Uh, yeah. Mutual friends," Aria smiled. "Um... funny, isn't it? You being here, too."

"Yep," smirked Wes. "Just like fate." Pause. "What are you doing out here in the cold?"

"Nothing," Aria said quickly.

"Come, let me give you a ride," offered Wes. Aria pondered for several moments, hesitantly looking down at her phone, where yet another call had gone straight to voicemail. She nodded, and followed Wes.

"I was waiting on my boyfriend," Aria said admittedly. "But he hasn't answered any of my calls."

"Great," smiled Wes. "I mean, not 'great', as in your boyfriend ignoring you. But great as in... oh, fuck it, you know what I mean. It's just that I get to drive you home? Who wouldn't want to drive a pretty girl home?"

"I have a boyfriend, Wes," Aria said, even if his flirting was pretty damn adorable.

"I know," Wes smiled again. "I know _all about it_."

"What?" Aria creased her brow.

Wes only shook his head, and tapped the edge of his nose with his finger. "So, I'm heading down to my brother's apartment... wanna join?"

Aria, now, had second thoughts of sharing a car ride with him.

"Oh, look! My boyfriend just texted me!" Aria made Wes stop, and waved as soon as she got out. "Thank you so much for the ride, though! See you at school!"

Wesley looked at her confusedly. "Fuck, Aria, I didn't mean it like that! I just... I _didn't mean_..."

But Aria had already gone off.

She _really_ had to consider her life and somehow place it all in order, because now, it was a mess of stacks and hoards of papers, and she needed to put it all in the right columns, in her silver folder titled _Life_. But that was all it was – messed up, _messed up_ , all _messed up,_ and things so broken and so _screwed up_ were not so easily fixed.

(The End.)

* * *

 **Sorry for the weird bracket-y things** – **just me and my stupid, stupid metaphors. And also, don't worry about Wes, he's not some creepy rapist, he's just under the impression that Aria and Ezra are together. He'll star in more chapters later on. Jason's barely in this, too, but I swear he'll be here next chapter, and many many many more after that ;)**

 **Reviews make my day! ;)**


	24. What Lies Beneath

**Because I think a rant is overdue, here are a (few) words about the season finale (** _ **SPOILER ALERT!)**_ **: To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I was hoping that it would be Aria, or Spencer, or any other liar who had the twin, not Mrs D. And relationship-wise, I really liked the episode (minus Ezria, of course), because I've never liked Spaleb, or that Elliot dude (I guess Jordan was okaaaaayyy), and Haleb/Spoby/Emison are OTPs! But I really don't want the whole Caleb cheating on Spencer with Hanna ordeal endangering Spencer and Hanna's friendship :(**

* * *

 **what lies beneath**

* * *

 _underneath it all, we're just savages_  
 _hidden behind shirts, ties, and marriages_  
 _how could we expect anything at all?_  
 _we're just animals, still learning how to crawl_  
— _**marina and the diamonds**_

* * *

It was only when she had finally escaped from the hands of Wes, and safely tucked into her bed, had she realised that Jason _had_ called back. A part of her was relieved, because maybe he didn't hate her _completely_ , but there was that other part, probably in the less merciful side of her soul, where she'd been so... angry. Like before, when she had found at he lied; like before, when their 'truce' had only ripped them apart even further. She didn't quite know what triggered it, but she knew that whatever it was, it was of near to no good reason, and _that_ – that made it all worse.

And now on top of everything, she had to weigh out finding Maya's website, and suffering the aftermath of it. It didn't help anything, with A being thrown into the mix, as well as that wretched _letter_ that Hanna found from Maya to Emily. Life was a hurricane, it really was.

And now Aria was stuck with no silver lining, except that _one_ call from Jason. But that was barely anything to hold on to, anyway.

* * *

School wasn't a huge ordeal – it was much more bearable than she would have thought it to be. Hanna, as a first, seemed to look a lot happier, and Aria didn't ask, but she knew that Caleb was somewhere involved – Aria was glad, because their breakup was her fault in the first place, and the guilt hadn't stopped gunning her down. Her mother, as a second, also seemed to be reasonably happy (by looking at her kissing that thirty-something... _Zack_ , anyway).

But it was after school that was.

She was walking down the high street, just as she did, and was pretty much ignoring her life. Her phone buzzed: _With attachment_ , but Aria ignored that. And then she bumped into this guy, and this, this she _couldn't_.

"Hi," he said, and Aria looked up, and as far as cliches went, saw Jason was the guy who she'd bumped into.

"Hi," she replied.

"Um..." he started, and looked around hesitantly. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Why?" she blurted out.

"To... walk?" Jason smiled weakly, and Aria silently nodded, following his direction. They carried on walking, nowhere in particular, still in silence, until awkward met a point where Aria just couldn't stand it anymore. And it seemed like he couldn't, either – "It's a pretty crap 'truce' we're holding, right?"

Aria stifled a laugh. "Uhuh. I've been avoiding you."

Jason nodded. "As have I."

Aria looked away from him, and inwardly frowned. It was true, but it sounded strange when it was said aloud. "How have you been? Anything... fun and exciting?" She was hinting towards CeCe, and Jason wasn't _that_ stupid, so she knew it was a pretty shallow move. But she couldn't help being jealous of the pair of diamond earrings who seemed to have done everything, had everything, and been freaking everything.

"Not really. But I heard you had a lot of fun on Friday," Jason said, in any attempt to lighten the mood. "The party?"

Aria narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know about that?" She paused, and realisation struck her. "You've been talking to CeCe Drake."

He looked rather hurt and taken aback by the accusation, and shrugged. "Don't skip to conclusions."

"Well, how else would you have known?" Accusatory was still evident in her voice.

"Maybe, Aria, you could consider, just once, that maybe it was _CeCe_ who did the _texting_ , me who did the reading, and also me who did the _ignoring_ ," he sighed. "You're my girlfriend; she's my ex. Just so you know, I don't love _her_ , okay? I'd never ever cheat on you."

Aria opened her mouth, but no words seemed to want to come out. He hadn't exactly said that he loved _Aria_ , but at least most of that was underway. "Sorry. I just... yeah. I'm sorry."

"Ar, CeCe being back here in Rosewood doesn't _change_ anything," Jason pressed on, and this made Aria look at him straight in the eye, something she hadn't done in a long time. "I'm still the same old guy who's in love with _you_. Not CeCe. I don't love her. I love _you_."

There. He's said it. And yet it didn't seem to make the situation any better.

"Is this a date?" a high, shrill voice spoke into the thin air, and Aria was almost relieved that the tension had been cut through, because really, it had become _so_ unbearable. "That is so _adorable_!" she spoke again, in a voice way too enthusiastic for Aria's liking.

"CeCe," Aria said politely.

"CeCe," Jason echoed.

"Hey, duckling," CeCe turned to Jason. "Hi, hi, _Jay_ - _Jay_."

Aria kept a grin plastered on her face as she looked from Jason, to CeCe, then to Jason again. She was annoyed that they'd been interrupted in such a moment as this, because they were close (and she just knew it) to making amends, and finally putting everything behind them.

"Spencer's back in there," CeCe said. "I just saw you, and wanted to say hello."

Jason and Aria stayed silent, and CeCe regained herself with another smile. She turned and waved to Aria, and then to Jason, before (finally) leaving.

Aria turned back to Jason, propping up an eyebrow. "So... _Jay_ - _Jay_?" She tried to hide her jealousy, but she knew she was glowing a very remarkable green.

Jason shrugged, and shook his head. "I think she called me that once before. But I really don't remember."

Then she laughed, it was unexpected, but all the same, she laughed, because the way he was saying – it was funny, and so she laughed. "Well," she said, in between giggles. "from ages two to six, my parents called me _Pookie Bear_ , but... all good things must come to an end."

Jason laughed, too, and for, even if it was half a millisecond, a short time, things felt... normal. They weren't, evidently, but they were close.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Me too," she said admittedly.

Their lips met, and it felt... it felt like all the times before – perfect, extraodinary, intricate. And yet it _wasn't_ quite right. Things seemed rushed, even if the kiss felt like forever and a day, and she just... she just didn't understand why things were playing out like it did.

It wasn't perfect.

Aria sighed as her hand got hold of his hair. It felt good, just not... right.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

"I know it isn't just me," Jason said when they pulled apart. "I know it isn't just me who feels... who feels like something's changed. You feel it, too, don't you?" Aria nodded absentmindedly. He carried on. "It feels weird. And I know you're most possibly going to hate–"

Aria interrupted him with a kiss, another one, and this time, she wanted – no, _needed_ – it to feel _right right right_. She kissed him, and they were flying.

Aria frowned. The kiss felt no different to the last one.

"What were you saying?" Aria asked, trying to ignore what just happened.

"You're not going to like it," Jason said, also acting like the kiss hadn't meant anything. "But... I know that there's a lot of distance between us, and I know it's A's fault. Partially. And I just wanted to say that... that I don't care if you think it will get me... hurt or something, and I don't care if you want to keep me safe. I don't care."

"What _are_ you saying?"

"I don't care, Aria," he repeated. "I'm going to help you hunt down A. And I _don't_ care."

She was a little shocked, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Jason, you don't want to do this."

"Well, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Aria, I said, _I don't care_ ," Jason raised his voice a little bit. "I'm helping you."

And this time, when they kissed, even if it wasn't all like the first times, it felt real. It wasn't perfect, no it wasn't, but it was a start.

(Just about.)

* * *

Jason usually loved surprises.

But he couldn't really say that opening the door to a father-not-father he hadn't seen in almost a year and a half could be classified as a good end to his day. He was surprised, but it just wasn't in _that_ way.

"Hello, Jason," Kenneth spoke up as Jason closed the door behind him.

"Hello, Dad," Jason replied. He knew his had was coming over – he recalled the call he'd received from him just a mere weeks ago. But with everything that had been going on, namely Ali, A, her mother visiting, and most recently, Aria. "How are you?"

"Great," Kenneth nodded. "And you?"

"Yeah, good," Jason said. "Do you want some... tea? Coffee?"

"Tea would be good," Kenneth said. "But that's not why I came. I was planning on coming earlier, but as I said before, there were some things I needed to take care of – and that took a couple of weeks. You're mother came and visited you, didn't she?" His last statement seemed more of an accusation, and silently, Jason nodded. "Has she told you then?"

"Told me what?" Jason echoed.

"So she hasn't," Kenneth rolled his eyes. "How typical."

"Dad..." Jason looked around, perplexed. "Is this something–"

"Your mother and I," his dad started. "we got a divorce."

Taken aback, he blurted out, " _Why_?"

"Jason, you'd better sit down–"

"Why? What happened?"

" _Jason_ ," Kenneth pressed on. "Stop acting like a child and _sit_ down."

Jason complied, trying to keep his mouth shut, but as soon as he _was_ down on the seat, he spoke up again. "I – I don't understand. Did this happen before or after my mom visited? I... Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"It happened before," Kenneth said, sighing, a little exasperated. "I know that you know, Jason, that I'm not your biological father." Jason listened, but didn't say a word. "I knew. I knew a long time ago. You're mother, she told me, and for a while I was able to forget."

"But then you couldn't."

"But then I couldn't," he nodded. "With Alison, her body... I just couldn't."

(Jason wasn't _that_ surprised: DiLaurentises usually gave up – he'd learnt that only from experience.)

"Why didn't you tell me about Peter?" Jason stuttered, and he cast his eyes down.

"Jason–"

"Look, I'm sorry, Dad," Jason took some steps back. "I'm sorry. But I can't, either. Not right this second."

He ran out of the house – he ran, and he ran, and he ran, simply because _he_ was sick of it all, too. Of all the secrets, and the lies, and all these defenses that were only knocked down. Of everything, because there seemed to be no end to it all.

He knocked twice on the door – he wasn't so much _sad_ , more... he didn't even know. He didn't even _know_ what or how he is feeling. But to be honest, nowadays, he rarely did.

"Jason?" she groused, rubbing her eyes slightly. "Is everything okay?" When he didn't respond, Aria walked forward, and turned Jason's head so he was looking directly into her. "Jason. Tell me what's wrong." Still. he did not answer, and Aria finally said, "Is there something you need?"

"A hug?" he asked, with no smile on his lips. It wasn't a frown either, perhaps somewhere in between. Whichever, Aria wouldn't know.

Aria tried to read through this enigmatic expression of his, but she couldn't, because it was unreadable. Aria didn't _try_ to, though, because it hurt to see him like this.

So she leaned in and kissed him, and there was no pretending this time, because it was all so surreal that she considered if it was just too good to be true.

An aeon later, they separated, and that was when the questions began. Surprisingly, answers came along, and they talked – _actually talked_ – and it felt good. This connection that had been hidden away, ( _almost, almost_ ) forgotten, had been uplifted within two heartbeats.

This feeling – it had so much... so much _power_ to it.

* * *

Aria Montgomery had never been a huge fan of hypocrisy – she, in fact, positively hated the fact that you could make someone so vulnerable, multiple times, and then react in such a way the villains switched when it all backfired. It was like Toby, like Caleb, like _Jason_.

Like Paige (according to Spencer, Hanna, and the other earring believed to have belonged to Meredith).

Like Nate (according to Spencer, and, believe it or not, _Jenna_ ).

Aria didn't know quite who to believe, but she knew that Paige, sweet, sweet Paige who had been dating Emily on and off for the past year, couldn't hurt a fly. Maybe she was some killer shark when swimming, but all in all, Paige was just like Caleb, and Toby, and Jason, and wouldn't do anything to hurt Emily or anyone else. But proof was proof, evidence evidence. Maya's bag, for one.

As for Nate, she didn't want to get tangled into _his_ mess, because she didn't even know him, aside from the fact that he was Maya's cousin or something. But something, just by the way Jenna talked about him; just by the way _Emily_ talked about him – that made her reconsider things so much that she thought that maybe, _maybe_ he was much, much more.

Aria was always a fan of ignoring things. And for now, that was all she could really do.

* * *

"So do we tell our parents about how Paige is the new A?" asked Spencer. Aria wasn't sure if it was rhetorical or not, so she ignored her, and waited for Hanna to fill in for a response. Telling their parents really hadn't hit them much, what with Mona still in that mental institution – but now _Paige_ was allegedly the new A, so how could _that_ be helped?

"I think we should," agreed Hanna.

"Sure," Aria nodded along.

"Well, aren't you two a whole-hearted bunch?" Spencer said sarcastically. "We sho–"

 _Buzz_. _Buzz_. _Buzz_.

 **Stand down, bitches. Play it my way and Emily stays safe.**  
— **A**

As they usually did, the girls deleted the message quickly, and walked on, pretending that it never happened. They walked on, and as they did so, they caught sight of Emily on one of the round tables, accompanied by none other than _Paige McCullers_ , who, may they add, was _on her phone_. They made a quick U-turn, and Aria was the first to speak – "We do, we do, we have to. Is that whole-hearted enough?"

"Four minutes ago, it would have been," said Spencer, a wince on her face. "Post A message – no."

"We stand down," Hanna nodded. "and Emily's safe."

 _Buzz_. _Buzz_. _Buzz_.

They checked their phones in another flurry, and this time found an email:

 **Alison's grave. 10PM. Bring Maya's bag.** _ **Without**_ **Emily.**

Spencer groaned as she opened the attachment – when was this ever going to go away? A still had pictures of what happened 'that night', and if they weren't to come, 'things' were surely going to occur.

"This is Paige," concluded Spencer. "This is Paige trying to make _us_ look bad, while keeping Emily in the clear _as well_ as erasing any proof that she killed Maya."

"Do we go?" asked Hanna.

"We're not scared of Paige," Aria proclaimed. "are we?"

"No," Spencer shook her head. If they couldn't be convinced, she'd do all the convincing for them, even if _she_ seemed more unconvinced than Aria and Hanna put together. "No, we are _not_ scared of Paige McCullers."

* * *

They shouldn't have stood up, and let Emily get hurt because now they were currently driving at goodness knew what per hour, and they didn't know _what they were doing_. Emily was currently _somewhere_ , and by the call they had received, she was at some place called the _Lighthouse Rock Inn_.

Aria's phone suddenly started to beep, and she pulled it out.

" _Aria, where are you? Are you with the other girls? Hanna? Spencer?_ Emily _?"_ Jason's urgent voice filled the line, and Aria could just about make out the faint voice of someone else. " _Hello? Aria? Can you hear me?_ "

"The _Lighthouse Rock Inn_ – can you find where that is? It's where Emily is."

" _Okay_ ," Jason said, and he paused the call for a few seconds, before returning promptly. " _There're two_ – _one in... Belmar, and one in Bayhead. Do you know exactly where she said she was?_ "

"Well, no, because she was kind of being chased by a maniac," Aria said, the panic arising in her throat.

" _Caleb said we'll go to Belmar, you girls try Bayhead,"_ Jason said weakly, and with a light laugh, added, " _And tell Hanna to answer her phone, because Caleb's called about five hundred times_." And from the other line Aria could hear Caleb's faint laugh – it was a wonder, it really was, finding a joke in a world like theirs. But she was glad for it.

Just as Hanna turned to do just that, she heard Jason's voice again. " _Ar..._ "

"Jason, be safe," Aria blurted out. "Please."

" _You be safe, too, Ar_ ," Jason said in reply. " _And don't do anything stupid_."

"I'll see you later," said Aria. "Promise me."

" _I promise_ ," said Jason.

And when she hung up, they drove over the hill, towards Bayhead, and hopefully, Emily.

* * *

Caleb and Jason reached Belmar within a matter of minutes, and still that was too long for them. It was at Belmar where and when they decided to separate, Jason heading towards the forest; Caleb to around the lighthouse.

Jason picked up the pace, basically sprinting. His vision was slightly blurred due to the rain now starting to fall, and the gusts of winds didn't help searing through his eyes, making them water. Just as he thought that Emily, Paige, and that creepy stalker guy they were talking about weren't _here_ , he heard a loud _clink_ , and then two screams, followed by a raspy sob.

He turned around again, hoping to hear some more, but there was nothing.

Instead, he ran where he thought he'd heard the noise, and didn't stop until finally, he found the cabin that the were probably talking about. More sobs were to follow, a little quieter this time, but a little more longing. He tried to get the front door to open by hitting on it multiple times with his fist, but it didn't seem to work, and Jason was left to carry on kicking.

"Who... there? Is... you... L-Lyndon?"

Jason might not have known who the voice belonged to, but he could recognise it. Just about. He wondered who Lyndon was, simultaneously trying to put a name to the voice he was hearing.

"Emily?" Jason called out. "Emily, are you in there? It's Jason."

"J-Jason?"

Now Jason knew who this girl was – it was Paige.

"Paige? Are you in there?" Jason asked. "Is Emily in there?"

"No... no... back... door..."

Jason nodded, and ran to behind the shed, hindered by some overgrown bushes. The back door seemed to have already been broken through, and Jason ran in again, only to find Paige taped up in the corner, eyes red and all puffy.

"Oh my god," Jason said, and he advanced towards her as quickly as he could. He found a knife lying on the floor, and picked it up, trying to cut through the rope that bound Paige against the wall – in the process, from a quick, unforeseen movement from Paige, the knife accidentally met skin, and Jason winced.

"I'm so... sorry..." Paige said, and more sobs racked through her body.

"Hey, it's alright," Jason smiled weakly, and carefully helped her up. "Are you seriously hurt anywhere?"

"I – I don't think so," stammered Paige. "Thank you. I just..." She paused. "Alison would hate this, you know. You helping me. Alison hated me. The girls hate me now. Except maybe Emily." More sobs. Paige held onto Jason as if he was the only thing keeping her upright.

"You don't need to worry about Alison or any of that now," Jason said firmly. "You just concentrate on not getting yourself hurt again. I'll take you back to... back to... Caleb's car." Paige wasn't heavy, really, but currently, with the wind blowing against them with such a force they thought they were capsizing, it felt like the world was weighing down on him – on both of them.

Paige started coughing – another unforeseen movement. Jason had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do, because he never excelled in all sorts of first aid, and if she started having some epileptic fit on the ground, he wouldn't be able to perform CPR, or whatever you had to do to keep someone from choking, or having a seizure.

So Jason let go of her arm, and pulled her back down again. She stopped coughing then, but Jason was pretty sure that this wouldn't be the last time he'd see her do so.

"F-flashing l-lights," Paige croaked, and with a feeble finger, she pointed towards the distance, where, just as she said, their were a lot of red lights flashing into random directions. Jason squinted, and could just about make out an ambulance, and some police cars.

Had they been too late?

He lifted Paige up again, and ran the remainder of the way. Finally, they had long passed the trees, and had reached the 'crime scene'. Jason wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she could see Hanna sobbing to her heart's content, being pulled back by Spencer and Aria. Emily was somewhere off, shaking, being questioned by some police. Where was Caleb?

He reached the other girls, and realised that Hanna had finally stopped crying; Aria immediately ran up to him as Jason gently let go of Paige.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked urgently. "P-Paige? Are _you_ okay?" Paige nodded. Aria, too, nodded, and turned back to Jason. Aria gently touched his forehead, where there were droplets of blood visible – "Jason, you're bleeding." She looked down at his hand. "And you're hand."

"Where's Caleb? And Emily? What on earth happened?" he said quizzically.

"Caleb's been..." Spencer looked around to see if Hanna was listening (she wasn't), and then carried on. "Caleb has been shot, Emily's a little shaken up, because of... of Lyndon. And–" Spencer looked up at her half-brother in concern. "Are you sure you're okay, Jason?"

Emily walked over, squeezing Hanna's hand, tears in her eyes. Then, as she caught her eyes on Paige, she exploded into more tears, and waked over to _her_ , pulling her into an embrace. "Paige, I'm so sorry... I... I went out, because I thought that maybe you could escape... but you were tied like that and I – I – I'm so glad you're alright."

"Em, don't fret," Paige smiled weakly. "Jason got me out. It's all okay."

Emily looked up at Jason, and gave him a smile, which he returned.

* * *

"I can't believe..." Emily shook her head disbelievingly as they waited around in the hospital.

"Emily, don't," Aria said. "None of this is your fault."

Currently, almost all of their significant others were somewhere in the hospital, with Paige getting checked for any form of poisoning; Jason getting stitches, and Caleb on the brink of dying.

A poster from the notice board fell down, and they caught on the yellow piece of paper.

 **Halloween Ghost Train Party in Rosewood**  
 **October 31st**

Spencer shivered, "Why would they have this at a hospital?"

Their heads turned as they saw Jason and Paige come from one direction, and Veronica and Garrett from the other. Paige seemed pretty much unscathed, as was Jason, except for a bandage around his arm, and a plaster upon his forehead. Veronica and Garrett smiled at the girls, and then at Jason and Paige, before Veronica said, "Emily, I'm glad you're okay. It's been terrible, I know, but I'm glad you're safe. I'm so sorry." Veronica smiled again, and added, "But thank you, also. Because you, Emily, you helped my case."

Emily decided not to take this as a compliment. Jason narrowed his eyes at Garrett.

As Jason and Paige walked over to the receptionist in case they needed anything else, the girls exchanged several looks. And then, their phones vibrated.

It seemed to be a five-way call, and it ended almost as soon as it began.

" _Emily, I owe you one_."

The voice was distorted, and definitely unrecognisable, but Emily looked over at Garrett, who harmlessly smiled back.

* * *

 **Hectic. Long. Hella confusing. But the next chapter is the Halloween Train, which is most exciting :)**


	25. Double Killer Daisy

**As well as this being the Halloween Train episode, a small part also ties in with** _ **Pretty Dirty Secrets**_ **. And also, you have been warned** – **I absolutely suck at writing horror!**

* * *

 **double killer daisy**

* * *

 _you seem to replace_  
 _your brain with your heart_  
 _you take things so hard_  
 _and then you fall apart_  
— _**melanie martinez**_

* * *

In Rosewood, Halloween was never a good sign, but it couldn't be helped, could it? They'd have to deal with it like everything else they had dealt with, and they'd have to pretend that this October 31st would be no different to any other October 31st.

In Rosewood, people could say that it was Halloween _every freaking day_ , and no one would think differently, because with all the murders, and the lies built up so high, so thick, that was what it was, wasn't it? It couldn't be helped. It just couldn't.

Caleb was still in hospital, and they were still recovering from the aftershocks. A was still out to get them; they were not safe. But they couldn't help the omens; they couldn't help any of it. It was fate, it was fate, and it was always going to be fate.

For now, all they had to do was wait.

* * *

Rosewood was unreasonably quiet in the morning. Aside from a few birds in the trees, and the occasional passer-by, things in town were more or less silent. (For now.)

The liars meandered through the pavement on that very morning, quiet as it was. Today, keeping their mind off things was the only goal they had; the only goal they always would have. But it was like playing football without a goalpost.

Still, they walked on, until each eye caught an unmistakable casket standing upright in the lawn of the house they were walking past.

 **R.I.P Alison DiLaurentis**

"Nothing about Clifford Yourdly has changed," Aria said, both bitterness and amusement shining within each word. She opted not to get any closer to the coffin, because this whole setting, it chilled her, and she wasn't ready to get even more spooked out. She saw Emily do exactly the opposite, and just as Aria was about to stop her, and tell her that it was nothing, something else did. The casket was bust open, and there he was, Clifford Yourdly.

"That tosser," Hanna cursed.

"See, this is why nobody will go out with you!" Spencer exclaimed to him as he run away, laughing. Emily, with an expression undreadable upon her face. She shrugged it off quickly, however, and the girls walked on. "So, anyway," said Spencer. "Have you guys got your costumes for the Halloween Train yet?"

Hanna half nodded, half shook her head. "Sort of. But I don't get the point of putting on something fancy if Caleb's not going to be there."

"The party's not for a few days," assured Emily. "And anyway, he's being discharged tomorrow."

"Yeah," shrugged Hanna. "Anyway, costumes?"

"Toby and I have something planned out," smirked Spencer, but seeing the other's faces, she carried on. "And _that_ if for us to know, and you to find out." She turned to Emily and Aria. "You guys got anything ready yet?"

"Paige and I have some thoughts," mumbled Emily.

"I have no idea," said Aria.

"Are you and Jason coming in a package?" Hanna asked, as she began to file her nails.

"We decided to surprise each other," said Aria, before checking her phone. "Oh, and talking of him – I should go. See you all later?" The rest of the girls mumbled goodbyes, and so Aria took off to the Brew, where she promised to meet Jason. When she got there, she saw that Jason was already at one of the higher tables, engrossed in some book. "Hey, stranger," Aria said casually as she took the seat next to him.

Jason turned around, smiled, and replied with a "hey" – Aria noticed a pair of glasses on his face.

"Since when do you wear glasse?," Aria laughed.

"Since I found out that I was short sighted," Jason laughed back.

"They're cute," remarked Aria. "So... am I not going to get a kiss?"

Jason laughed again, before leaning in to kiss her. "How's your morning been?"

Aria winced as she thought over Ali's 'coffin', and that immature prick who had pulled that oh so hilarious stunt on them. She thought about every day before that, especially about Caleb, and how _he_ was doing. Her mind raced, her heart pounded, and yet the only word she could get in edgeways was "fine".

"You are a very eloquent liar," said Jason.

"What're you reading?" Aria said, changing the subject. She pointed at the heavy paperback in his hands, and he turned on the chair, and showed it to her. " _The Great Gatsby_. Man, I love that book." Jason nodded, and smiled, turning back around.

"It's pretty extraordinary," he said. "Sometimes I wish that I could just... erase my memory so I could read it all over again, in a different light. That's how intriguing, and mind-boggling it is." As he reached the end of his sentence, Aria started to laugh uncontrollably, causing Jason to raise an eyebrow as he turned to her.

"I'm sorry..." Aria said through giggles. "You said 'mind-boggling'."

Jason chuckled, before his expression turned rather sombre, "The same guy who I paid the money to, you know, for the information of Alison's whereabouts. He called me. Again."

"What did he say? What did _you_ say?"

"I told him I wanted the complete and utter truth," Jason sighed. "And he swore that it _was_."

Aria widened her eyes. "No, no... you can't _possibly_ think..."

"It's been two months, Aria," Jason said, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm getting desperate, my parents are getting desperate, and I know you are, too. It's been two months, and that's too long." Jason looked down, and started to fold one of the corners of his book.

"How do you know it's the same person?"

"That's the problem. I don't. All I know is that his voice is filtered, and he speaks the same way as the other person. He uses really weird words. It's like solving a maths equation," Jason said. "But it's also why I want to know _if_ these people really are the same; if they're working together. If I'm just taking this in the completely wrong direction."

"You know what they say, Jason. Curiosity is what killed the cat."

"But this is about getting answers."

"And it's also about you not getting hurled into some... pit six feet under."

"That's not going to happen."

"But it might."

"Has A sent you another message since...?" His voice trailed off as he eyes Aria carefully.

Aria shook her head vehemently, and put on a different voice, "Nope. Which is a relief." They started to make their way out of the restaurant as Aria carried on talking. "I mean, the messages have sort of stopped since, you know, Caleb... But it doesn't mean they're _going_ to..." Aria then laughed, her voice trailing off. "Sneaky, Jason. Real sneaky."

Jason smirked, and leaned in for another brief kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Aria said, and she walked off down the road.

Jason watched as Aria skipped down the pavement, and just as Jason started to open his car door, he noticed a poster on the roof. It was one he'd seen many times before: the Halloween Ghost Train Party. Jason rolled his eyes, _now, that's only reminder forty-seven_. He started his car, and started to drive towards the old costume store, just on the outskirts of town.

He knew that Rosewood wasn't plagued with ghosts, or ghouls, or demons, but the sight of each costume, whether it was displayed on a mannequin, or simply on a hanger, really got on his nerves, and he suddenly found costume hunting not in the slightest way appealing.

Just as he was going to leave, he felt a light tap on his shoulder, which caused him to halt, and turn around.

This person had long, wavy blonde locks, and her face was covered with a mask – but it only took him about zero point two five seconds to figure out who it was. He crossed his arms.

"CeCe Drake."

CeCe put her mask down, and flashed him her CeCe grin. "Jason DiLaurentis." She paused. "You've been avoiding me."

Jason looked away. "Does that surprise you?"

CeCe shrugged. "No, not really. Talking of which, where's your little baby doll?"

"My baby doll?" Jason asked incredulously.

" _Aria_ ," CeCe rolled her eyes. "Five foot three, raven-coloured hair, big doe eyes—"

"Okay. I get it," Jason rolled his eyes again, and looked at her irritably. This was only the second time he'd seen his ex-girlfriend since she came back to town, and the first they'd spoken privately. Whichever it was, he _really_ didn't like it, talking, and her herself. "What do you want, CeCe?"

"Why would I _want_ anything?"

"Because you're also after something," remarked Jason.

"Fair enough," shrugged CeCe. "I just wanted to check in. To see if you were okay – Alison was your _sister_ , and... and now she's... now she's, uh..."

"You can say it," he said.

"Now she's dead," CeCe said. "And I wanted to talk. Privately ."

Jason looked at her, and her bemusement, but all the same nodded. "And what exactly is it you want to talk about? I thought we were done talking the day after my sister disappeared from the face of the earth."

CeCe cast her eyes down. "I wanted to, you know, apologise."

"Wow, Miss Tough-Nut is _apologising_?" Jason feigned shock, which caused CeCe to look up bitterly.

"Figures, Jason. _Figures_ ," CeCe said. "It's just like before. I try to say something _remotely_ nice, and you turn everything around like _I'm_ the bad guy. I'm trying to be the good _friend_ , and see how you're doing? Yeah, we broke up, but it doesn't mean you have to cut me off completely."

"What did you _want_ , then?" Jason said. "What, you wanted us to be the best of friends so we could, I don't know, braid each other's hair, tell each other's futures, sport friendship bracelets, and pretend that it was _all okay_? Wow, CeCe. Wow."

"Don't contradict me," bit CeCe.

"No, _you_ stop contradicting yourself. Stop contradicting me. Stop contradicting the past," Jason crossed his arms, and with the look on CeCe's face, he _almost almost_ felt bad, but not quite. He hadn't meant to set himself loose, and get angry at her, but he'd missed out on two years – two years in which 'angry' had not once crossed his mind.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means _you_ , and Ali. Always playing people. You really deserve each other, you know that?" Jason scoffed, and still he flinched at each word, because this was his _sister_ he was talking about. He didn't have to hide the accusatory. "You didn't care who you hurt, did you? The moment she met you, she took a step back from the rest of us."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm, saying that she was a _kid_ , playing childish games, until _you_ came along and helped her take them to the next level."

"Oh, that is _rich_ , coming from you," CeCe remarked sarcastically. Jason gave her a look, that urged her to carry on, defiance pouring out each letter. "You think I didn't know what you and your little friends were up to? Don't play innocent victim with me, Jason. Some big brother you are. What a wonderful example to set for your sister."

Jason stared at the creepy axeman costume. This was freaking creeping him out.

"I'm done with this," he said, using well the double meaning.

He had already started walking away when he heard CeCe speak up again, "Go ahead, Jason. Walk away. You know, there's a liquor store around the corner. Maybe you should stop by and grab a drink." Jason carried on walking. "It's only a matter of time, Jason, until you go and get _Aria_ hurt."

Jason really wanted to turn around, but he closed his eyes, and then walked away completely.

* * *

Aria went through each and every option that played in her head. From books, from movies, from whatever, she trashed her wardrobe, flicked through catalogues, and searcjed the internet. Nothing was quite, what was the word? Fitting.

A little distracted, Aria picked up her phone, and went through any messages. There seemed to be nothing new, but as she was about to place her phone back onto her desk, she noticed one with an attachment, that she hadn't opened.

It was dated back to almost two-and-a-half weeks before, and so Aria opened it, wondering how on earth she'd been able to forget it for so long. It seemed pretty standalone, what with no text or anything coming along with it. Opening the picture, Aria realised that the dread was unnecessary, because all it was, was a photograph of a truck, namely, Toby's. There was no A message, so it was probably just Spencer, or Toby himself.

Whichever, she shrugged it off within a millisecond.

What the hell was she going to wear? The party was in, if she calculated it right, less than seventy-two hours, and she was currently on zilch ideas.

Then, the book Jason was reading came into mind – Daisy. Daisy Buchanan. It had a nice ring to it, didn't it?

Aria immediately made for her wardrobe, looking for just the right outfit. The one that looked like something Daisy would wear. From inside her closet, Aria heard a few knocks, though muffled, before a final _bang_.

"Hey, Aria, sweetie, I'm ordering Chinese..." Ella's voice trailed off when she saw Aria emerge from her wardrobe, a nice green dress in her hands. "Is this for that Halloween party you and your friends are going to?" Aria nodded. "Well, it's gorgeous. Who is it?"

"Daisy Buchanan," Aria said. "From _The Great Gatsby_."

"Ah," Ella smiled. "So Jason's going as... Tom? Gatsby? _Nick_?"

"No," Aria shook her head. "We actually decided to surprise each other. Of which I should probably go and tell him not to wear orange: orange and green clash _horrifically_." Aria stared back down at her dress, and reminded herself to go on the web and search for a green headband. "Oh, and Mom? You know what I like. Number twenty-seven and fifty-nine."

* * *

Aria lost count on how many times she had readjusted her headband. It wasn't as if it _felt_ wonky or anything, it was more to do with how it felt like someone was... _watching_ her. They probably were, and Aria didn't want to just stand there, doing nothing. Headband readjusting was a passtime of _some sorts_.

"Hey, Ari, wait up!"

"I was just standing," Aria smiled as Hanna approached. Her blonde hair was bobbed up, and her white dress flowed as she walked. "Wow," Aria started, eyeing up Hanna's costume, wondering just how long she spent perfecting each edge, each corner. "You look _amazing_."

"Meh," Hanna shrugged. "Took me about six hours. Anyway, you look pretty fab-tab-aroo, too."

"Thanks," Aria grinned.

"So, where's your other?" Hanna asked.

"'No idea," Aria said. "He'll be here soon though. Hopefully." _Hopefully he hasn't bailed last minute._

"What are you dressed as again?" queried Hanna.

"Oh, Daisy. Daisy Buchanan. From _The Great Gatsby_."

"The movie?"

"No..." Aria started. "The book."

They waited some more, as person after person appeared from the smoke surrounding the entrance. It was about twelve people, until Jason finally showed up.

"Go on then," Hanna gestured towards Jason. "Join lover boy."

Aria nodded, and walked towards him. She first started with his costume, wondering what he was dressed as – it all clicked, with the gelled hair, slightly ruffled collar of a slightly creased red jacket. "James Dean. I like it."

Jason smiled. "And you are..." He squinted at her, with a look that screamed make-believe.

"Don't pretend you don't know," smirked Aria, and she fingered his hair.

"Okay then, Miss Buchanan," Jason said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Technically, Jason, it's _Mrs_ —"

"Sorry. I got bored," Hanna walked towards them, before turning and frowning at Jason. "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't come – _solely_ because I'm the only girl left here who's partner-less. But you're here, and hey, I don't hold grudges."

Jason nodded at her, "That's... that's awesome." Pause. "Caleb's not coming? Wasn't he discharged, though?"

"Yeah," Hanna sighed. "But he's not coming."

"But..." Jason looked at her confusedly, as if he knew something, but then shook it off. "Oh. Right." He turned to Aria and Hanna, and then said, "Well, I'll leave you two alone." He smiled, and walked away, leaving Hanna and Aria to only keep on waiting.

"Hey," Spencer crept up behind them. She then lowered her voice, putting on a accent, "I'm hard to get – all you have to do is _ask_ for me." She paused, and eyed their costumes. "You girls look amazing."

"You look gorgeous, too, Spence," Aria said.

"You do," Hanna said, smiling. "And there's Emily and Paige!"

The girls' heads turned to see Emily and Paige enter through the smoke.

Hanna was the first to speak. "Wow. They look so _freaking_ hot."

"I know!" grinned Aria. "Like a wedding cake from outer space."

Emily and Paige walked towards them, with Paige quickly waving and moving away. Emily smiled at them, commented on each of their costumes, until Noel came behind them, tapping each of their backs. They turned around to see Noel dressed as an unmistakable pirate, and took a moment to roll their eyes.

"All in a pack," commented Noel. "So adorable. Almost like Alison was still here."

"Sod off, Noel," Aria said.

Noel laughed hysterically at that, and retook Jenna's arm, walking away. The liars kept their eyes glued to Noel, and whatever the hell he was doing, which now was stupidly throwing up a sweet to make it land in his mouth. He's been succeeding, however. For now.

Noel started to choke, and Aria wished she could just stay put and watch him die, because she just _didn't_ care

Aria watched as Spencer quickly bent down to try and help him up – sometimes she wished she had a heart as big as Spencer's.

Noel stopped coughing, and as Spencer was still bent down, his jacket exploded, causing every girl, except quite possibly Jenna, and he started to laugh harder than ever before "Got you good, didn't I?" He kept on laughing.

"What are you doing here _anyway_?" asked Aria. "Don't you hold your own Halloween parties."

Noel stood up, walked towards Aria, and said, "Well, I decided that this year, I'd give someone else a go. Not too shabby, don't you think?"

" _All aboard the Rosewood Halloween Ghost Train! All aboard the Rosewood Halloween Ghost Train!_ "

Emily looked around at her best friends. "That'll be our cue."

* * *

As the music blared on the train, Jason had literally no time, or place to think. He sat there, in one of the booths, trying not to let the music deafen him.

"Good choice," a voice chimed as the curtains of the booth were opened.

Jason looked up, and sighed when he saw CeCe. He reopened the curtains, and walked out of the booth, leaving CeCe alone.

"Can you _stop_ ignoring me?" she called out.

"I'm positively frightened of what will happen if I don't," Jason remarked. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"It's a free country," CeCe said.

"Aren't I glad?" Jason said sarcastically, before walking off, not letting anymore words from CeCe scathe him. He walked off, but stopped when in the corner of his eyes, he saw Spencer. Feeling the need to talk to his half-sister, he made his way towards her. "Spence. Hey."

Spencer smiled up at him. "Hi, Jason. You know, I was going to come and visit you..." She stopped herself, and looked deeply into his eyes, and Jason could see the specks of light and dark browns. "How are you feeling, Jason?"

Not _how are you?_ , or _are you okay?_ , but _how are you feeling?_

Jason sighed, and slowly nodded. "Better."

Spencer looked down. "Look, when you agreed to help us find A, I know you didn't expect what happened at the... lighthouse. But thank you anyway, and I'm glad that A didn't get _you_ seriously hurt."

Jason shook his head lightly, and emitted a laugh. "Spence, I'm not implying that I don't want to help, because I do. And I didn't expect anymore – this psycho has my sister's _body_ somewhere. What more to expect?" He paused. "Have you seen Aria?"

"No..." Spencer said slowly. "Sorry. Have you seen Toby?"

"Um, I think so," nodded Jason. "With Jenna."

"Thanks," Spencer smiled, and then gently squeezed his shoulder. "Jason, everything will work out. I'm sure of it."

* * *

"Did you come alone?"

Aria was sitting at one of the tables, looking out at the frosted windows, when she heard a voice that made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle (Halloween really was doing her no good). She turned to see the lead singer of the band standing by her, a look on concern on his face.

"No," Aria said. "But I, uh, don't know where my boyfriend is. Currently."

He smiled at her. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Aria," Aria said, but the music seemed to be taking over any form of communication.

"Sorry, what did you say?" he said.

"Aria!" Aria raised her voice a little, but he still seemed not to have heard. So she let her fingers glide over the condensed windows, writing her name. He seemed to get the message, and smiled charmingly at her.

"Well, then, Aria, I hope to see you at the front when we sing our next song," Adam Lambert winked at her, and Aria started to blush. For a second, she looked away, before looking back, taking a sip of her drink, as if nothing had changed.

And it hadn't, right? Aria was still Aria; the lead singer was still the lead singer; Rosewood was Rosewood. _Her punch was still punch_.

* * *

"Jason! _Jason_! Hurry!" Spencer tugged at Jason's sleeve, and pulled him towards an empty table. Aria's purse was on the seat, and it was vibrating due to the girls calling. Beside the bag was an _A_ on the window, and it seemed like a name had been rubbed out.

"What the hell?" Jason asked, picking up the green handbag.

"We have no idea," Emily said quickly. "But we got a text message." Emily shoved her phone into his hands, and his eyes skimmed each word, reading it slowly so it could actually make some sense.

 **Guess who won't be making it to the end of the line?**  
— **A**

"We should separate," Spencer said. "Jason and I will go this way. You two go the other." Hanna and Emily nodded, and walked to exactly where Spencer had told them to. Spencer's heart was beating out of her chest as she pulled Jason to the other side.

Jason stopped tracks, however, as he pulled out his phone.

"What's wrong?" Spencer asked. In response, Jason handed her his phone, with the message he couldn't quite decipher.

 **The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.**  
— **A**

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Jason.

"It means that A can't be compassionate," Spencer said gravely. "A doesn't have a limit to its capabilities."

Man, Spencer was smart, but was she really _that_ smart? He looked at her in disbelief, saying, "How on earth did you manage to get that out?"

Spencer shrugged, and gestured to his costume. "I thought you'd know. It is you, isn't it?"

Jason looked down, too, and then the realisation dawned on him. "Hey, Spencer... Are you... How are you feeling?"

"Why would you think I'm feeling anything other than what I normally feel?"

"Because I know that look," Jason said. "You look like the world's weighing you down."

"I'm just worried, okay?"

Jason briefly nodded, looking out into the distance, where he _swore_ he saw a flicker of green – of course, there were probably countless other people on the train wearing such a colour, but it was just the body figure, the sparkles. It _had_ to be Aria.

"We should separate here," said Jason. "We'll be able to locate her quicker then."

* * *

Garrett was dead.

That was the first thing Aria noticed when she realised she was locked in some secluded crate, after waking up suddenly from a world of black. The second thing she noticed was a voice, a voice that was definitely male. The third thing was that she was very almost being pushed off the side of the train, quite possibly to her death. Rule out quite possible – _most definitely_.

The fourth thing she realised, was that she couldn't scream. She could barely move, and her mouth was duct-taped, her hands tied up.

And she tried, she really did. (But she was better off dead.)

* * *

Someone tapped Jason on the shoulder. He'd had enough of these delightful surprises, and had half a mind to ignore whoever it was.

"Stop creeping up on me, CeCe," Jason said, exasperated. "I'm busy."

"Jason, I need to talk to you."

"Well, it can wait."

"Well, no, it _can't_."

* * *

More voices. This time, a female one. The female one seemed to be rambling, and Aria could only hear a few proper words: she was still deafened by the shock, if that was even possible. Through the tiniest crack in the crate, Aria could just about make out a nail, a red nail. For now, she didn't care what the school nurse had told her about hygiene and safety, because she pulled it out, and tried to cut through the duct-tape bounding and gagging her.

" _...Lied to me_!"

Aria closed her eyes, and pretended that she was all okay. That everything was going to be all okay. That someone was going to save her before they reached the end of the line.

* * *

"What is it?" Jason asked irritably.

"I..." CeCe paused, as if she regretted bringing it up. "Come with me." CeCe took Jason's arm, and opened the door to one of the compartments, where Toby, Caleb, Noel, Jenna, and a handful of others were waiting in. "I... I'm sorry," CeCe said, and Jason had no idea what she was on about.

"CeCe, you're freaking me out," Jason said. "What's going on?" He realised that CeCe was not going to answer her, and exhaled deeply. "I need to find Aria." He made for the exit, but this dude he'd never seen before stopped him, telling him that it was all going to be okay, and they weren't going to risk anymore passengers going astray.

Caleb stood up, and turned to him. "What the hell is going on?"

Jason shook his head. "I have no fucking clue." He stole a glance at CeCe, who seemed to be blocking out anybody's words.

* * *

Aria could finally breathe again.

(Sort of. But it was a start.)

* * *

They had waited for a long time, and now, finally, the door of the compartment opened. Aria scurried in, followed by Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Paige. Jason felt a hundred tonnes being lifted from his shoulders.

"Aria!" Jason exclaimed, and Aria ran towards him, the tears running freely down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her, wondering what on earth A had up its sleeve next. Jason looked down, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Aria wiped her nose. "Pale. Am I pale?"

Jason shrugged, "It doesn't matter. You're okay. You're okay."

"Yeah," Aria smiled a smile of relief. "I'm okay."

Aria slowly walked back to the other girls, who shot her multiple questions at a time, which Aria managed to shoot back one-worded answers.

"I can't believe Garrett's dead," Spencer shook her head over and over again. "Talking of which..." Spencer stopped, and saw as Noel shot an insult at Toby, who tried to shoot back, but failed.

Each and everyone's head turned as they looked at Toby, and Noel, who seemed to almost be in some full-blow fight. They couldn't quite hear what Noel was saying, but Spencer quickly picked it up, and ran to Toby, in any attempt to defend him.

"That's right," Noel laughed. "You little..."

Toby pushed Noel into the ice cart – to be honest, it was quite comical, and Aria thought that Noel deserved it all. But the ice cart, it fell over, and it uncovered a black bag. One that was pretty evidently a...

Jason pushed in front of everyone, not bothering with apologies, and looked over at what had fallen, and what had been uncovered.

A-l-i-s-o-n.

Her body.

Aria turned all her attention to Jason in a heartbeat – his face showed something of discomfort, utter perplexity, and disgust, and just... betrayal. He was staring down at _Alison_ _'s_ body, and so was everyone else.

Aria grabbed Jason's hand, and pulled him away from the toppled over drinks table (she refused to call it – the source of _Alison's body_ ). He was shaking his head, almost like a madman, and Aria had no idea what to do, for she had never been one to be good at cheering people up.

"Jason..." she started, but never finished.

"A-Ali," he choked. "Her – body."

"I know," Aria whispered, her voice a little shaky – Jason was right there, in front of her, and she had never felt more nervous in her whole entire life. Her _sister_ – her _dead sister's_ body had just been found under some ice where _drinks_ were being sold. Aria had paid for one – she shivered. "Jason, I know... But let's... let's get out of here as soon as possible, okay?"

Jason only shook his head again, and as Spencer said something quietly, Jason looked on the verge of running away, to which Aria _really_ didn't blame him.

* * *

"Here," Aria said, as she passed him a warm mug of coffee.

The mere sight of Jason hurt. Aria never thought she'd see Jason cry – well, if that was how you were supposed to classify it. He murmured an almost silent "thank you", and seemed to be fixating his gaze on the inanimate objects on the table (which to him seemed moving). Aria didn't know what to do, or say – it seemed Jason didn't, either.

The Halloween Train was almost two hours behind them, and they were at home (if that was what people called it nowadays). Safe. (For now.)

Jason spoke up, as they sat silently on the sofa, refusing to meet each other's gaze. "Sometimes, I still feel like it's me. I still feel like _I_ was the one who killed Alison. I can see the blood on my hands, and I just... I think that maybe it _was_ me." He stopped, and shook his head. "Sorry. This isn't... I'm supposed to be the one comforting _you_."

"Yeah, well," Aria shrugged. "A lot of things don't go as planned."

"You're right," Jason muttered. "They don't."

* * *

 **Quick note: The quote somewhere in the middle (** _ **The abuse of...**_ **) is from** _ **Julius Caeser**_ **, but is also found in the beginning of** _ **East of Eden**_ **, which is a James Dean movie.**


	26. Of Mishaps and Monas

**Hi hi! These following chapters are a bit of a mess, mainly because I'm reeling from Writer's Block (I'll call it karma), and I want to move on from Season 3. Therefore, I've skipped a lot, but I'll leave it up to you guys to interpret it your way. In the meantime... please enjoy!**

* * *

 **of mishaps and monas**  
 **(or "it takes one mad cow to know another")**

* * *

 _you'll never know what hit you_  
 _won't see me closing in_  
 _i'm going to make you suffer_  
 _the hell you put me in_  
 _i'm underneath your skin_  
 _—_ _ **digital daggers**_

* * *

Aria climbed down the stairs, and walked into the kitchen, only to see Jason already at the table, Ella bristling beside him. Aria smiled, and took the seat next to him, wondering if he, too, was still surfing the aftershocks of yesterday.

"Good morning, Aria," Ella smiled at her daughter. "How are you?"

"Great," shrugged Aria, unprepared for any questions shot at her – she was more of an asker than an answerer, to be honest. She opened the milk, and poured herself a drink, before turning to Jason. She sighed, and took his hand, because _of course_ he was still surfing the aftershocks (drowning _in_ , even), and _of course_ it would take a long time to recover from said aftershocks. Having not seen him since his sort-of mental breakdown the night before, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Pretty crappy. You?"

"Ditto," Aria said, and took a gulp of her milk. "I still can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Jason sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "As of yesterday, we've found my sister's body, which only leads back to square one, we've found _Garrett's_ body, which takes us back even further, and now I'm positive I've just helped A, and _above all_ , I'm left thinking if _CeCe_ has anything to do with all this."

"Why would CeCe have anything to do with it? Was she on the train?" asked Aria.

"Uhuh," nodded Jason. "She seemed rather urgent to talk to me about something, and kept on going 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry', but she never got round to telling me. I think she was going to, but either completely forgot about it, or had second thoughts."

"Probably the second," she said.

"Probably," he agreed.

"You know, Spencer told me, that before Garrett... died... he told her something," said Aria, capturing Jason's attention at the mention of his dead ex-best friend. Aria peered up to see if Ella was listening, but she walked back up the stairs, probably to wake Mike up. "Garrett didn't kill Ali – but he did see her that night. With Jenna. He hit her with a field hockey stick, but only because she was scaring Jenna, and he wanted to... protect her. So he made sure she believed that _he_ killed Alison – because Ali was after her. And _—_ " She paused when she saw Mike grudgingly make his way to the kitchen. She lowered her voice. "And when they left, Garrett 'allegedly' saw Ali talk to a different person _—_ " Mike walked in, mumbling "good morning" to Aria and Jason, before getting himself a glass of water. "And this person was," She lowered her voice even more so it was barely a whisper. "my dad."

"Honey, I'll see you at school," Ella reemerged into the kitchen. "Be safe. Bye, Jason." She proceeded to ruffle Mike's hair. "You, too, sweetie. Don't get into any trouble." She waved again, and left the house. Aria turned back to Jason as Mike took a bite of his toast.

"Maybe he's lying," whispered Jason.

"Yeah, but we don't know that. Maybe he is," shrugged Aria.

Her phone suddenly went off, and she saw it was a text message from Hanna.

 **Mona visited me in the middle of the night.**  
 **She's been released from Radley, and she's coming to school.**  
 **She's better now.**  
 _—_ **Hanna**

"What the _fuck_?" Aria exclaimed, almost spitting out her milk, and definitely startling both Mike and Jason. They raised eyebrows at her, Mike sniggering, and Jason stifling a laugh. Aria read, and reread the text, wondering if _this was real_.

"What's up?" asked Mike.

"Mona," said Aria. "Mona's been let out of Radley, and she's returning to school."

Jason looked at her, confused. "Why?"

"I have no clue," Aria groaned. " _She's better now_. That's what Hanna said, but she _isn't_ , is she? She can't be. It's only been... what... six months now? She can't be better already."

"Maybe she is. People take as long or as short as they can to recover," Mike added. Aria sighed, eyeing her younger brother – if _only_ she could tell him about A returning, and how Mona could very well be this new A, one who was far deadlier, and far more dangerous. But she knew she couldn't, and so she nodded along.

* * *

Aria met up with the girls in front of the school, and together, they watched as Mona made her way through the crowds of students, some shooting her empathetic looks, and other stabbing her with insults, and remarks.

Hanna urged them inside, and then asked, "What do we do?"

"Befriend her?" suggested Emily. "Then maybe we'll get some answers – about... yesterday. About... Aria's da _—_ "

"My dad has nothing to do with Alison," snapped Aria. "Sure, Garrett was murdered, but he's no victim – he's probably lying." She cut off any of Spencer's protests. " _No_! Okay? No. He wouldn't do that – he's not that type of person."

"Aria, people are capable of anything," Spencer said.

Aria shook her head vehemently – "Well, you've got it all wrong." And with that, she stormed out of school, and she had no idea where she was heading, or if she even wanted to head anywhere, but stormed off anywhere.

She was almost completely down the steps, until she saw Mona, who smiled at her. "Hello, Aria."

Aria bored her eyes into her, not saying anything back, because a) she was scared, and b) she simply _did not_ trust her. Mona seemed to buy that Aria didn't want anything to do with her, and flashing her a huge smile, she scurried off into the school.

Sighing, Aria turned on her heel, and started to walk back, hoping not to cross paths with Mona again.

(But she was never the one to be lucky.)

Hanna, Emily, and Spencer were looking at Aria worriedly, and she grudgingly went to join them by the lockers. They started to apologise, but Aria shrugged it all off, devoting her wholly attention to Mona, who was now completely the centre of attention, walking to her old locker. Aria saw as she gulped when she opened her locker.

"What the hell is that?" A few kids gathered around started to question what exactly was _in_ Mona's locker, because it most certainly weren't normal textbooks or whatnot. Mona gulped again, and she took out what was in the locker, and so the liars could now see what it was.

"Is that a..."

" _Brain_?"

" _Blimey_. Who knew someone could..."

Mona was holding the brain with a knife, and was already making her way down the corridor, to the dustbin. Aria saw Caleb emerge from one side, and Jason from his office – they, too, eyed Mona with caution, not knowing quite exactly what was going on.

They were left to see the note, which had long been abandoned.

 **It takes one mad cow to know another.**

"Well," Aria cleared her throat. "They got the 'mad cow' bit right."

* * *

Jason heard a few knocks on his office door. Looking up from his yellow files, he cleared his throat, and said, "Come in," He smiled when he saw Hanna walk in. "Hey, Hanna."

"Hi," Hanna groaned, placing her hands on her head, groaning some more. "God, my _head_. All this nonsense, with Mona, and A, and bio – my _brain_." She collapsed onto the sofa, and groaned again, leaving Jason to prop up an eyebrow.

"Okay."

"I had something to tell you," Hanna said, looking up. "But my head's _spinning_ , and I've forgotten it, so I'll tell you a little later... Damn, your pillows are so non-fluffy. Do you have any paracetamol? Water? These _pillows_!'

Jason laughed, "Sorry, this is no pharmacy. And I'd say this room's about twenty-five years old. Apparently cotton expires. I don't know. Didn't take textiles."

Hanna sat up. "My head's getting better."

Jason nodded at her. "I'm glad." He paused. "What did Mr Banks do now?"

"He expected me to _explain_ what 'budding' was," Hanna exclaimed, a little exasperated. "I mean, how would _I_ know? What is budding anyway? That weird triangular decoration thingy you put up at kiddies' birthday parties? What's that got to do with cells, and cytoplasms and – I'm only _seventeen_!"

"I'm no scientist, Hanna," said Jason. "Have you remembered now?"

"Wait..." Hanna closed her eyes for several seconds, before opening them. "Yuhuh. I've remembered – it's like that saying, um... keep your friends closer, but your foes clo... something like that. But anyway, I was just with Caleb, and we overheard Mona talking over the phone, and she said something about you."

"Right," Jason said.

"She's going to suck up to you, most likely," Hanna said. "And..."

"And?"

"And I'm going to ask you what you're going to do," Hanna said, and waited for Jason to reply.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Can't you answer that? I don't like rhetorical questions."

"It isn't rhetorical, it's an _actual_ question, Hanna."

"Well, I think it's rhetorical."

"Well, it isn't..."

Jason's voice trailed off as the door to his office opened again – and in came Mona. She looked genuinely surprised that Hanna was here, and blushed quickly.

"Sorry, I..." Mona smiled. "I got lost, and I was supposed to find the guidance counsellor, but... I'm so stupid. I guess the meds really have messed with my brain, hey?" She beamed at them both, and walked back out.

"That was..." started Hanna.

"Weird," they finished at the same time.

"Look, I'll figure it out, okay?" Jason said, giving her a 'convincing' smile. "Just... be careful. And tell me if anything's up. And if you get an A message. And tell me what 'budding' means." Jason left hurriedly, and as soon as he was out in the corridor, he almost chased Mona down. She was sitting on a bench, alone, and there seemed to be no one bothering her, either.

"Are you okay?" asked Jason slowly.

"Huh?" Mona looked up, and saw him. "Yes. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? It's the first day of school, my best friend completely blanks me; the other girls don't acknowledge my existence _at all_... and I've already had a brain stuffed in my locker, and now it really, really smells." Mona let out a sob, and unsure, and uneasy, Jason lightly patted her back.

"Uh..." Jason said, not quite sure how to cheer someone up. "You did kind of hound them down by stalking them for months, and you did almost try to kill them more than the one time... and... you were in a mental institution for six months... and..." Jason shook his head at his bluntness. "Sorry, I... I'm not really good around crying people."

"Nope," Mona said, and she laughed shakily. "But you're right. Everything I've done... they should hate me, right?"

 _Should that even be a question?_ "No! And Hanna's giving you a change. Aria, Spencer, Emily... they're... they do know you exist. And the brain... not everyone is a saint, hey?" Jason tried joking, but knew he failed when she started to cry again.

"Thank you," Mona said, and as he stood up, he saw Spencer in the corner, eyeing them suspiciously. Mona seemed unscathed as Jason slowly turned back to her, and she tiptoed to wrap her arms around him. His arms felt awkward around her, but he let her hug him all the same, until she smiled, and walked away.

Jason shrugged, and walked to Spencer, who burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Jason said.

"You really are terrible at cheering people up," she remarked.

"How are you not spitting in my face, and pulling my hair?" Jason said, changing the subject.

"Because Hanna..."

"Hanna's already told you?" Jason looked at the clock. "It's been, what... two minutes now?"

"Hanna is a sheep," Spencer exclaimed, as they walked on. "She bleats, and then the whole of China knows. Otherwise known as modern technology." She stopped as they reached the front of school. "Just... be careful, yeah? Around Mona, around everyone."

"Chill," said Jason. "I don't even know what I'm doing. It's just part of Hanna's 'keep your friends closer, but your foes'... that one." Spencer shrugged, laughed, and then walked off, waving. Jason turned around, and felt his phone buzz in his back pocket.

"Hello?" Jason asked.

" _Hi._ " Hanna. " _I told Spencer. And Aria. And Emily. And I'm sorry, about telling. And has Mona sucked up to you yet? Jason?_ Jason _? Why aren't you..._ " Her voice trailed off. " _Okay, I was joking about not knowing what 'budding' meant. I do. Jason?_ "

"I would answer, if you let me get a word in edgeways," Jason laughed. "And yes, she has. And I know what I'm going to do."

(He did. Just about.)

* * *

"No way!"

" _Aria_..."

"Excuse me, are you _asking_ for a death threat? This is _Mona_ we're talking about. You're not _seriously_ going to try and make her trust you, so you can find out some information? That's crazy, Jason, and _no_ , I do not approve."

" _I wasn't calling for your approval. I was just calling for acceptance,_ " Jason sighed from the other line. " _I told you, a while back, that I'd do anything to stop A, whether you wanted me to or not. This is exactly what it implies_ – _think about it."_

"How do you know if she really will trust you?"

" _She probably won't_ ," Jason said admittedly. " _But my theory is, is that she's sucking up to me because she wants information about_ you _girls, in return for trying to wind me weak with false hope that I'll find out who Ali's killer is. And plus, I called Caleb and Toby, too_."

"Theories aren't always correct."

" _I know. But there was never any harm in trying_ ," Jason said. " _Talking of which... have you asked your dad_ –"

"Eugh, not you now," Aria groaned. "Let me make it clear – _MY DAD DID NOT_ – shoot, I have to go. Um, uh, I'll call you later." Aria cut Jason's protests off with her own opinion. "Okay, I will ask."

"Hey, sweetie," Byron walked in her bedroom as Aria threw her phone upon the ground – this was where she began to question herself; question him. He was her freaking _father_ , for goodness' sake, and yet here she was, debating on whether to trust him, or not.

"Did you like Alison?" she shot at him.

He looked a little taken aback, and started his words off slowly, as if he didn't know the answer himself. (He probably didn't, and that was exactly why she was asking.) "I liked all of your friends."

And he left, leaving the door wide open.

* * *

Sometimes, a few emotional words, a few tears shed, and a completely fake personality can't always make a person forgive you – it takes more than that. Much, much more.

The girls – Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily – seem to be able to see beyond the Mona in the screen. And with a page ripped from Ali's old diary beside them, as words are spoken, they know that anything's possible. (Especially if this time the story's about a girl called Alison, and her tendency to blackmail older men, namely, one, Byron Montgomery.)

(It takes one mad cow to know another.)

They're all insane.

* * *

"Has Mona told you anything yet?" Caleb asked Jason as he walked into the DiLaurentis household.

"Uh..." Jason started. "No. She mentioned something about 'a missing page from a diary', but we currently don't have that diary, so basically, we're fucked." Pause. "You know, I kinda doubt we'll get anything from her, I mean, she's Mona, you and I both know that she's capable of physically (and mentally) everything, so yep. We're fucked."

"We're fucked," nodded Caleb. "And she has as much trust in me as she does in a three-toes sloths."

"Yeah, but sloths don't speak English," Jason said, with no emotion in his voice at all.

"And Toby hasn't called back," Caleb said.

"And Toby hasn't called back," Jason repeated. "We're fucked."

"We're fucked," nodded Caleb. "Very."

The silence that came soon after was replaced by the faint _swish swish_ of a piece of scrap paper flying in through the window above the kitchen sink. They walked to investigate, and picked it up to examine.

 **It is one thing to mortify curiosity, another to conquer it.**

"What does that mean?" questioned Caleb.

"I don't know, Spencer's the decipher-er," Jason narrowed his eyes at the words on the note. "But I recognise it. From somewhere. Maybe a book... a film... a..." He stopped abruptly, and Caleb looked at him weirdly. "Sorry. I just... I _swear_ someone was just there." He pointed out at the window on the other side of the house.

"It's probably a squirrel, Jason," Caleb said.

"Yeah," nodded Jason.

* * *

Aria coughed, and coughed, and coughed. She felt horrible. Her head was spinning. _She_ was spinning. Did she mention feeling horrible?

"Tea," Meredith smiled her sickly smile at her – her father was out of town, and being alone with her was absolute inferno, but at least she wasn't that satanic as she expected her to be. "Are you feeling alright?" When Aria nodded, Meredith then asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

Aria hesitated – she _really_ didn't trust Meredith, especially with what she'd overheard the day before. They – Meredith and Byron – were looking for something. Something that apparently Aria had in her grasp.

"Sure," said Aria.

Meredith sighed, and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Do you think your father could intentionally hurt Alison?"

Aria didn't answer: she didn't have one.


	27. Help, I'm Alive

**Writer's Block q me**

* * *

 **help, i'm alive**

* * *

 _if i stumble_  
 _they're gonna eat me alive_  
 _can you hear my heart?_  
 _beating like a hammer_  
— _**metric**_

* * *

Wasn't this just the best time to go down with the flu? Surrounded by all things Meredith (who gave her a look that screamed malice every two seconds), with encouragement that they were all twenty steps behind A (again), and a father who could very well have killed her best friend, Aria couldn't exactly see the end of this living hell.

Aria coughed.

Aria felt terrible.

Aria took the weird tea Meredith gave her.

Aria slept.

Aria repeated.

Aria tried not to think about A (and her fathers 'alleged' ulterior motives of the past).

Aria failed.

"How're you feeling?" Meredith bustled up behind her, yet another cup of tea in her hands. She passed it to Aria, who took it gratefully. Aria shrugged as she drank – she wasn't quite sure what to say, because if she was being honest, she'd been feeling worse as the days went by. "Look, can we talk again?"

"About what?" asked Aria.

"About your father," Meredith said. "And that friend of yours – Alison."

"I'm tired," Aria proclaimed, and she moved from the couch; Meredith took a firm hold onto her hands, and Aria looked down at her gripped wrists, and then to Meredith, who seemed in no position to apologise. "Let go of me. I'm going to bed. You can talk with my _father_ when he's back. I'm sure he has enough knowledge of my _friend_ , than me and you put together."

And that was the end of that.

* * *

"I have a terrible feeling something's going to go wrong," Jason remarked, as he and Caleb walked to the Brew, where Paige was – this was sort of their last resort, starting a coalition to find A, might they add, _behind the girls' backs_ , but it couldn't be helped, because the A mess was getting messier by the second, and if it wasn't stopped, things were not going to end pretty.

"I have that feeling ever second of my life," Caleb sighed. "But nothing _too_ drastic is going to happen, so we'll be alright." He paused, and looked to see if Paige was inside. "Hopefully." He sighed again, because something terribly probably was.

There was some silence.

"Toby still hasn't called back?" asked Caleb, breaking it.

"'Don't think so," said Jason. "Anyway, I think it's his and Spence's anni—"

"What was that?" Caleb suddenly said.

"Uh..." Jason looked around. He saw a the back of a girl's head – maybe he'd seen her before, but he couldn't really see properly, and decided not to skip to conclusions. He then saw Paige rounding the corner, pushing her bike beside her. "I see Paige."

Paige smiled (somewhat nervously), when she saw them, and waved. "Hey. Sorry I was late – my bike was kind of broken. But it's fixed now."

Caleb nodded. "It's cool. Um... why don't we go inside?"

"Good idea," Jason said, and they did just that. They took the table in the far corner, somewhere where they were just about hidden, and immediately Jason said, "Do you think the girls have any idea of the missing page of the diary she was talking about?"

"I don't know," Caleb said. "Wouldn't they have told us?"

Paige gave a pointed sigh. "I don't think so – Emily hasn't told me anything since... I first found out."

"Coming to think of it, neither has Hanna," Caleb said. "I did overhear the girls talking about a _Harold Crane_ , though, but I have no freaking clue."

"Who the hell is he?" Paige asked.

Caleb shrugged. Jason spoke up – "Aria thinks her dad's in on it. And that's about everything she's told me. Apparently it's what Garrett told Spencer... before he, um, died..."

Paige and Caleb gaped at him – "And they _trust_ him?"

"Well, there's no point in not trying..." Jason's voice trailed off when he caught sight of the last person he'd wanted to see in a conversation like this. He groaned, and murmured, "Are you freaking _kidding_ me?" Paige and Caleb looked up to see who it was – Caleb seemed to try and familiarize her, but the fact that he'd never seen her before didn't exactly help; Paige seemed to stiffen as she neared their table.

"Ooh, what fun," CeCe grinned as she made a stop at their table. She looked at Jason, and then at Caleb and Paige. She nodded at Caleb – "You're Hanna's beau, no? The one who got shot." She then looked at Paige. "And you're Emily's non-straight latte!"

"Do we know you?" asked Caleb irritably.

CeCe shook her head. "Probably not. Anyway, um... bye!"

"Wait, CeCe," Jason said, causing her to turn around. "What do you know of Mona?'

"Mona..."

"Vanderwaal."

CeCe looked a little skeptical (maybe if you squinted), and bit her lip. "Not much, but..."

"But..."

"Alison mentioned a few things," she shrugged. "She was a loser, fucking insane, maybe a little than Pigskin, though, but insane all the same, and... and she was smart. Like, really, really smart – Ali swore she thought she was psychic or something." She paused suddenly. " _And_... I need to dash... sorry."

As soon as CeCe was kindly out of sight, Caleb questioned, "Who is she?"

"An old friend of Ali's," Paige answered. Jason nodded, although he was not quite sure how she knew.

* * *

The 'coalition' was, more or less, over within the next few minutes, granted that they'd gathered up zero information, and so Jason was walking down Aria's road. He hadn't heard directly, but from what Spencer told him, she was down with the flu.

So he knocked on her door, several times.

 _Knock_.

Nothing.

 _Knock_.

Nothing.

 _Knock_.

"Yeah, who is it?" A blonde woman stood on the other side. She seemed to bore her eyes into Jason, and all Jason could think of was how he _knew_ who this person was, but just couldn't put a name to her. "Hello? What d'you want?"

"Uh... is Aria in?" he asked.

"Um..." she started, before crossing her arms. "Yes, but you can't see her."

"I..." Jason tried to say, but got interrupted by the slamming of the door.

* * *

"Aria! I've got some more tea for you!"

Aria groaned as she sat up on her bed, her head pounding like no forever, her insides churning like they were born to. She could hear Meredith running up the stairs, and groaned again – she'd learnt to be a little careful around her, because suspicions were slowly arising. Could she _really_ trust her current carer?

Meredith poured her some more tea. "Get some rest, yeah?"

"Yeah..." yawned Aria, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

She was awoken, however, a minute or so later, not by Meredith, but by another step of footsteps. Followed by a voice. More high-pitched, and somewhat less scary.

Aria wasn't sure if she was conscious, or not.

Because there was Alison, so clearly just... _in_ her room. Blonde hair, blue eyes, same figure, same features. Aria blinked one, two, three times.

She was definitely not conscious.

Alison was still walking around the room, as if she was looking for something.

"Alison, is that... is that you?" Aria asked groggily.

Alison whipped her head around, and smiled, but didn't answer. Instead, she bustled around the room some more, until she finally picked up one of Aria's old dolls. She opened the small case at the back, and then looked back at Aria.

"What are you... what are you d-doing?" Aria mumbled.

" _Taking back what was mine_ ," smiled Alison.

Aria picked up her teacup, in any attempt to wake herself up.

" _I wouldn't drink that if I were you_ ," Alison said, causing Aria to stop.

"Ali, Ali..." Aria said quickly, fumbling for words simultaneously trying not to lose her out of her sight. "Did my..." She paused – was this really the right way to say it? "Did my father kill you?"

Alison laughed. " _Do I look dead to you?_ "

Before Aria could answer, Ali placed the doll back on the cupboards, and walked to do the door. She looked Aria deep in the eye – " _You know why I picked you, right?_ "

And then she was gone.

And Aria ran after her, she really did.

Her heart was pounding at the thought of her best friend still being alive and she wanted answers and she wanted to know and her heart was pounding at the thought of her best friend—

But she was already gone.

And Aria was going to go with another night without answers.

* * *

Aria awoke again, at some point, and she heard a faint _bang_ coming from outside her door – then there were a couple more – _bang bang_ , and it caused Aria to jolt upwards, now properly awake.

She walked to her bedroom door, trying to open it, but it was locked. Jammed. There was no possible way out. A little shaken up, Aria went to her desk, smashed open a mirror ( _Screw seven years of bad luck_ , she thought _, I have enough of that already_ ), and walked back to her door.

She screamed.

She screamed again.

Meredith _must have_ heard her.

And then realisation, it struck her – Meredith was after the diary page. How hadn't she known sooner It was literally written on the blonde bimbo's face? Alison, when – if – she visited her, literally screamed it out to her. _How had she not known_?

So she almost ripped the cage of her doll open, and pulled out the rather scrumpled-up note, and shoved it deep in her pocket.

She screamed.

She screamed again.

Where the hell was Meredith?

Aria could see the knob turn on her bedroom door – Meredith walked in, and locked eyes with her. She was full of such fury, she resembled a bull, and apparently Aria was the red warning sign.

" _Where is it_?" she growled. A grizzly bear was also an option.

Aria scrambled for an escape – luckily, she was only five foot three, and so she easily ran out from under Meredith. She carried on running, still holding that broken mirror piece.

Meredith was still faster.

And she caught up with her and Aria didn't know what to do and her mirror (her only weapon) dropped and she didn't know what to do and before she knew it she was only seeing black and—

* * *

Aria was never going to be able to trust Meredith again (not that she fully did before). Neither could her father, and she was glad he was getting rid of her. (About time, too.)

The events of post Ali's 'visit' had shaken her up big-time, and she wouldn't fully be over it for one hell of a long time. Aria was just glad that she'd gotten hold of that club.

"Eat," Hanna said, pushing her dinner tray towards her.

"No," Aria shook her head.

"Eat," Hanna repeated.

"No."

"Look, I know Meredith's a psycho, and I know she almost tried to kill us all with a freaking mirror, might I add, which was _your_ weapon, and I _know_ she drugged you, and I _know_ all of that, but still, Aria, you need to..." Hanna held up her cheeseburger. " _Eat_!"

"Hanna, I would," Aria said. "but I'm a vegetarian, remember?"

Hanna seemed to want to say something, but Emily interrupted any form of conversation with a _clink_ , as she took one of the seats.

"Hey, Em," said Aria coolly.

"A notebook," Emily said quickly. "That Alison..." (Aria stiffened at Alison's mention, because if her eyes had not malfunctioned at the sixteenth hour yesterday, then she really had seen Ali.) "...Wrote in. It has a reference to Toby, and someone called 'Beach Hottie'."

Hanna and Aria exchanged looks – "Who?"

"I don't know," Emily said. "But it was some kind of roleplay I don't understand..."

"I don't understand anything anymore... eugh..." Aria groaned. "At least we know now, that my dad didn't kill Alison."

(Right?)

Hanna's face fell – "Toby..."

Aria bit her lip. "Talking of which, how did their special surprise anniversary dinner go? Is that why she's not at school today?" Aria grinned. " _Special time_ with the beau?"

Emily laughed, too, but then looked down. "We shouldn't keep this from her, though." Beside her, Hanna and Aria nodded, because it was true. Secrets tore them apart. "Is Spencer not at school today?"

Aria shrugged. "I didn't see her. Maybe she _is_ here. She's got that decathlon thing, right? She would totally be here..."

Hanna and Emily shrugged.

Where was Spencer?

* * *

Jason didn't really have any experience in playing detective, but it didn't take a magnifying glass to sense that something was up. And he knew it wasn't just because of A.

He knocked on Spencer's door – a few times. She wasn't at school, she wasn't answering his calls, and even the girls said something was wrong. There was that slight possibility that she was with Toby, but that was very unlike Spencer, and plus, she'd be missing her decathlon meeting – Spencer didn't miss them if it meant the world was falling down.

He knocked again, and Spencer's frail voice called out – "Who i-is it?"

This was not a good sign.

"It's me," Jason said. "Can I come in?"

"I..."

Jason didn't give her much time to answer, and he barged in the house, only to see Spencer collapsed on the ground, her arms gripping her legs. She didn't look up, but he could tell that she had been, and probably was still crying.

He walked up to her, and then sat down beside her. "Spencer... What happened?" That was insensitive. But then again, he wasn't good at trying to cheer people up – he was pretty hopeless around crying girls, especially if that girl happened to be his sister. "Sorry. I... didn't see you at school today, and the girls hadn't, either. I – we – were worried."

"Go. Away." Her voice was hoarse.

"Spence..."

"Toby broke up with me last night," she said, exasperated – it seemed like there was more on her chest, but Jason let it go nonetheless, because she was already in such a state. " _That's_ all you need to know, okay? He broke up with me. End of. _END OF_." She raised her voice at the last two words, causing Jason to jump.

"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I really am. I just wanted to help..."

"I don't need help," Spencer snapped. "I just want to be left alone. Is that too much to ask?"

"I – I just..."

"Look, I appreciate you coming here, I really do," Spencer said, and she stood up quickly, hauling Jason along with her. "But there's nothing you can do to help me. So please leave me alone." She paused. "And for the record, I _was_ at school today, and..."

Spencer fell. She fell, and landed in Jason's arms, because she was spinning, and spinning, and it never seemed to stop doing so.

"What am I going to do?" she sobbed. "Jason, what am I going to do?"

Jason shook his head, because he really had no clue.

* * *

He was still a little confused after visiting Spencer, but was glad she was reasonably okay – Jason opened the door, and almost jumped when he saw Aria already inside.

"Hey," Aria said, as he walked in.

"Hi," Jason replied with a small smile. He noticed Aria's slightly worried expression, and then asked, "Okay. what's wrong? Aria?"

Aria shook her head quickly, but still seemed to be hiding something. "Nothing. Just... a hard day at school. You know. The usual." She smiled to cover up, and although Jason wasn't completely convinced, he nodded. "Moreover... I was worried about Spencer."

Jason frowned. "Her and Toby..."

Aria bit her lip, and it still seemed like there was something she was having to tell him. She sighed loudly, and nodded at Jason's previous statement. "On their anniversary, as well."

Jason moved closer to her, and kissed her softly. He hadn't been able to do this in a while, and he missed it. She giggled as they pulled apart.

"Talking of which," started Jason. "I got something for you."

"Why?" Aria asked, still laughing.

Jason smiled in response, and pulled out a box from underneath the sofa. He lifted it out, and placed it on the table. He took it out, and before Aria could even realise it was a vintage camera, he had taken a picture of her.

" _Ah_!" Aria said, trying to shield herself.

"It's yours," grinned Jason, and he passed it to her. "I think it was my grandmother's...? She was an ear model or something like that – anyway, I'm not really that creative, and I know you've always loved photography."

Aria took it with a smile. "Thank you, and now..." Aria turned to Jason, holding the camera, and without warning, snapped a photo. " _Your turn_!"

It was Jason's turn to try and shield himself. "Agh, no!"

"Agh, yes!" Aria grinned wickedly. "For me. _Please_."

Their impromptu photoshoot went on as 'normal', until the paranoia kicked in again. They were both left with this unfriendly feeling that they weren't quite able to distinguish – it was like their happiness was being ruined by everything around them, burdened to end badly. There was A; there was Spencer; there were millions more.

Aria kissed him one more time, hoping this sourness would disappear. "See you tomorrow?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

Aria sighed as she left Jason's house.

She hadn't told him – the main reason she even went to his house was _to tell him_.

And she hadn't. (How convenient.)

Emily had found out earlier, from CeCe, that Alison had thought that she was pregnant. And this _Beach Hottie_ , in Alison's notebook – he was the one who was apparently the father.

And Aria was going to tell Jason, because he had _the right to know_.

Her phone went off when she was halfway up to her road.

 **Poor Uncle Jason.**  
— **A**

Aria almost threw her phone away in frustration, until it beeped again.

 **P.S. You two must** _ **really**_ **love each other.**

* * *

 **The next chapter is already written, so I'll have that up soon. _Sooo_... in Chapter 28, Alison's (second) memorial is undergo, Wes stars, and drama arises around Aria and Jason :) **


	28. Dead to Me

**We're about three/four chapters away from the end of S3 :P**

* * *

 **dead to me**

* * *

 _i'll shed a tear with your family_  
 _i'll open a bottle up_  
 _pour a little bit out in your memory_  
— _**melanie martinez**_

* * *

Jason was awoken by the familiar _buzz buzz_ of his phone – he groaned as he rolled over. Maybe he should have just turned it off completely when he slipped into bed last night, with thoughts clouding his ever fibre like there was no end (and there wasn't). He'd spent most of the night thinking, about pretty much everything that was currently in his way.

There was no end. He knew that. He'd accepted it. He'd had to.

He took his phone, and realised it was his father. He yawned, and picked it up – "Dad? What's up? Has something happened?"

Kenneth's response was as formal as ever – but Jason didn't expect much else. His voice was stern, and obscure, and had no warmth in it whatsoever. " _They've given us access to your sister's body. Finally. Although the things we buried her with... are still missing._ "

 _Your sister_. Why hadn't he said _Alison_? It wasn't like some curse. And who'd keep the 'death toys'? Some paedophile, probably, but why on earth...?

" _...Meaning there'll be a reinterment of... her,_ " Kenneth said, and paused, the coldness searing through – Jason shivered. They'd held an interment for her once before, and so did that mean there was going to be a second burial? _Another_ funeral? " _We'll be putting her in the mausoleum. We – you, your mother, and I – will have some time to... see her._ "

Jason nodded. "And..."

" _And what?_ " he asked.

"What about the girls?" Jason answered. "Alison was their best friend. Wouldn't they want some time, too?"

" _Look, Jason, I don't know. You can arrange that, for all I care,_ " Kenneth sighed. " _But Jason, I warn you. Just because you're... involved with one, and one's your... sister – half-sister... it doesn't mean they're all saints. We still don't know what happ–_ "

"The girls didn't have anything to do with that, and plus, that's not the only reason. They – Aria, Hanna, Em, Spencer – were her friends. She trusted them. They trusted her." Jason said, and he cleared his throat. Just as he was about to hang up:

" _Wait!_ " Jason stopped to listen to what his dad had got to say. " _Be safe_."

And Jason finally hung up, dressed, and headed out to the Brew.

* * *

The Brew wasn't as crowded as it normally would have, and so he wound his way through the place with ease. Just as he was about to round the corner to head to the girls' usual hiding place, he caught sight of a brunette he knew only too well, with usual silky hair unruly, and a coat she'd only wear over her own dead body.

"Spence?" Jason called out, as he saw her fill her coffee up.

"Jason," she said, nodding blankly. "Hi."

"Hey," Jason said with a smile, hoping she'd show some light on her face, and smile back – no such luck. Instead, Jason cleared his throat, and asked, "Are the others there?" Spencer nodded. "Can I... talk to you? All of you?" Spencer nodded again, and led him to the table in the far corner of the coffee shop. They all seemed set to leave, but stopped when they saw Jason.

"Jason," Hanna said. "Hey."

"Hey," Jason replied, and smiled at Emily and Aria.

Aria took his hand, smiled, and let him kiss her quickly. "Is everything okay? Why didn't you call?"

Jason bit his lip, and averted his gaze. "I needed to talk to you – all."

Aria nodded, and turned to the others – Hanna looked confused, and concerned; Emily was only looking down; Spencer was in a world of her own. "Sit down," she said, and so Jason did.

"They've let out Alison's body," he said admittedly. "We're not burying her again, but we're putting her in a mausoleum, and well... I've arranged for you guys to, you know, pay respects, spend some time with her... after my parents." He sighed. "But the things she was buried with are still missing. I don't know, but A's keeping them as some sick, sick souve–"

"Maybe we should stop blaming A," Spencer looked at him, cutting her off with both venomous words, and a murderous expression. She cleared her throat, and repeated, "Maybe we should stop blaming A for everything that goes wrong around us, and start blaming ourselves."

Jason wasn't sure how to respond. "Sorry?"

Spencer rolled her eyes. "It's all very nice, Jason, what you've done for us, but I think I've paid enough respects, and spent enough time with your _sister_. Don't expect me to be there, Jason."

"Spencer!" Hanna said, shooting her a warning look. Spencer shrugged, picked up her bag, and left without a second glance – the girls were genuinely baffled. She'd come clean with her whole edginess, and they understood that Spencer and Toby were no more, but this was getting... out of hand.

Hanna looked apologetically at Jason. "She and..."

"Toby, I know," nodded Jason. "Um... so..."

"We'll be there," Aria said reassuringly, and squeezed his hand. "I'll call you, yeah?" He smiled at her, and sighed to himself when he watched them leave – what _was_ up with Spencer? Break ups were pretty shitty, and he knew that, he knew that well, and _yes_ , he knew how much Spencer loved him, and vice versa, but from the way she was acting (and he also knew that Spencer was quite possibly the strongest person he'd ever met), it seemed like much, much more.

Jason, too, walked toward the exit – until he saw CeCe ( _cough_ , his very own shadow, _cough_ ) enter, in which he stopped. As much as he despised CeCe (for many different reasons), he knew that she had adored his little sister, and it wouldn't be fair to let her go without closure.

"CeCe," Jason said.

"Hey," CeCe smiled.

"Can I talk to you?" he said quickly.

CeCe nodded, and said, "Sure. What about?"

He paused. "Alison." He saw her face flicker for just a moment, until she led him to a table. She looked at him pointedly, and he started to tell her the same thing he'd told the other girls. Her gaze didn't leave his as he talked, and she didn't move when he stopped.

CeCe suppressed a smile. "You want me to be there?"

Jason shrugged. "I think Ali would want you to be."

CeCe nodded. "Thank you."

Jason nodded, too.

It was silent for a while.

"I think this is the first civil conversation we've had," CeCe smiled – an almost genuine one.

"I think so, too," Jason smiled – and he thought it was genuine.

CeCe went to retrieve her coffee, and Jason walked outside – his eye caught Spencer's, and he moved toward her.

"Spence! Spencer!" he called out. She turned around, but didn't look up – her fingers were as pale as pale could be, and she seemed to be gripping onto her car keys like they were oxygen to lungs. "Spencer, are you... Why..." Each word was getting swallowed up, and he was stuck. "Why are you against seeing Alison?'

She scoffed, and shook her head, already walking away.

"Spencer, she was your _best friend_ ," he said.

"Jason, you don't want to be asking me that," was all Spencer said. She paused, and Jason half expected her to walk away, but she stopped completely, and turned to him. "We'll just get into an argument. I'll win, and then we'll both end up feeling worse."

Then she did walk away.

 _What am I going to do?_

 _Jason, what am I going to do?_

Jason only watched as Spencer got into her car and drove off – and he decided to leave it at that.

* * *

Aria walked mindlessly down the road – she wasn't thinking about much, mostly about the fact that she'd be attending _yet another_ closure-yet-not-quite memorial for Alison, who, might she add, was dead. For the past years, she, and the other girls, had only made Ali's ghost glow in the dark as they _yearned_ for her – with A, they were never quite sure if Alison really was properly gone – in actual fact, it was as if A didn't want them to accept Ali's death.

Aria was always left confused by that. Because A killed her, right?

And Alison _didn't_ visit her, and warn her about her drugged tea. Definitely not.

"No..." a voice sprung out of nowhere. "Man, we've got to stop meeting like this."

"Meeting like what?" Aria turned around, and her face fell when she saw _Wes_ – yes, _him_ – standing on the pavement, his hands in his pockets. He looked a little sheepish, and smiled at the sight of her, but laughed it off, and waved. Aria waved back – when was the last time she'd talked to the guy? Oh yeah, when he had tried to abduct her, into his _brother's_ apartment.

"Aria," he smiled. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, that's because we haven't," Aria said.

"Why so cold, Aria?" Wes pouted. He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened during our last run-in. If you and Ezra really had problems, then I shouldn't have interfered – I'm sure he didn't mean to not tell you about Malcolm, but then again, that was kinda Mom's fault... anyway, I'm sorry. Again."

Aria peered at him curiously. "What the hell are you talking about? Who's Malcolm?" _And why did you say Ezra's name? What's he got to do with it all?_

"Oh," Wes said, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I see that we're in a bit of a sticky situation. Nevertheless, let me explain. You know, I'd have thought Ezra would have told you, but... anyway, I know about the two of you – and I don't judge. Not at all. I mean, it's a bit _weird_ , but–"

"Wes," Aria pressed on. "I. Don't. Understand."

"That's why I'm explaining," Wes muttered. "Malcolm. Ezra's son. But don't worry, he's seven, so he most certainly didn't cheat – that's Maggie. Maggie hid it – Mom's fault. Sort of – well, everyone's fault. But anyway, I'm sure Ez–"

"I haven't seen Ezra since... since that awkward dinner party my parents held," Aria said, and blinked a few times – Wes might have just babbled out some gobbledegook. "And did you just say that you thought _Ezra_ , and _I_ were together? I... _WHAT_?"

"I see – an even stickier situation. Um... but... Ezra mentioned you," Wes said. "And he spoke remarkably about you, I'll have you know – he said you were beautiful, stunning, and... wait, _WHAT_?"

Aria looked around her, and then back at Wesley, who now seemed as confused at 'this' as she was. Ezra apparently thinking her as 'beautiful' was all very flattering, she had to admit, but a little creepy, and perhaps even obscure.

"Ezra and I aren't together – I have no idea who your mother is, or Maggie and Malcolm, for that matter," she said slowly. "Did he saying anything else? Like... _in detail_? Like... _did he imply that we were ever together_?"

Wes hesitated. "Well, thinking back... not _exactly_. I may have misinterpreted things, _but_ , the way he was saying it made it seem obvious... He kept on going about how he knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. So I replied, with a 'student-teacher relationships may be pretty freaking ho'–"

"So he didn't?" Aria breathed a sigh of relief.

"But you do have a boyfriend?" Wes asked. "And you really were having problems when I picked you up?"

"Yes, I have a boyfriend," Aria said. "And whatever problems we had, we're over them now."

"Shame," Wes muttered under his breath.

"Sorry?" Aria said. "Wes, _I have a boyfriend_."

"I didn't...!" Wes' voice trailed off, as Aria laughed at him.

"You know what?" Aria said, and she walked towards him. "I'd quite like to be your friend."

Wes grinned at her, "Yeah, me – _PICK UP YOUR WEAPONS AND RRUUUNNN_!" Wes took her arm, and she yelped, but ran with him all the same – unfortunately, they had not gotten very far, until the person they were apparently running from had caught up.

"What the fuck...?" Aria started.

" _Kaplan_ ," mouthed Wes, and although nothing was making any sense to her, she took the backseat, and watched as Wes and this... Kaplan had some face-off. Bad mistake: Wes hit him in the eye, retook Aria's arm, and ran down the street, screaming.

Once they'd reached the end, a little breathless, Wes turned to her. "He's my physics teacher's husband. My brother... Ezra... when he left, completely left, shortened his name, and everything, I had a pretty hard time at home. He just picked his things up, and left Mom, and me – I was pretty jealous of that. So my goal for the rest of my teenagehood, is to try and get expelled from my prep school," Wes sighed. "Mom's paying left and right to make up for my horrible grades, and so... hitting on Mrs B was my last resort."

"I see..."

"Well, that's enough about me," Wes smirked. "Now, you."

"Me?" Aria asked, pointing to herself.

"No, that spruce over there," Wes rolled his eyes. "Yes, you. Tell me about yourself."

"Okay, um... I... I'm seventeen. I have a younger brother, Mike..." _I've been stalked by a nameless psycho for the past year, which is_ fun fun fun _!_ "I lived in Iceland for a year." _And then my best friend winded up dead, and I've been arrested the odd time for that very murder_. "I used to streak my hair pink. I still have a teddy called Pigtunia... And... I speak a bit of German?"

"I like you," he said, all of a sudden. "You're rather unpredictable."

Aria decided to take this as a compliment – "Thank you. I guess?"

"So... the boyfriend," he starts.

"What about him? Aria asks.

"Tell me about him."

"Why?"

"Because he must be rather special if he's been able to get _you_ ," he said, and although it seemed like a form of flattery, Aria wasn't sure how to respond to it. Technically, they both got each other, and although Wes expressed it to be one of perfect standards, they'd had to go through many snares, toils, and dangers (and still were their struggling with the hardships) to keep it going strong.

"Okay, Detective," Aria jested. "Why don't we play a game? Ten questions. I ask, you answer. And vice versa."

"Right you are," Wes smiled. "So... the boyfriend. Uh... how long have you two been together?"

"Well..." Aria said thoughtfully. "We've broken up... once. And another time... sort of. So altogether, I'd say, um... ten months? Eleven?" Even she was a little surprised – was it _really_ a whole year? They'd been together for _that long_ , and with that A in their shadows, they'd actually survived? (Okay, not really, but still, A hadn't created too much havoc for them. Yet.) "My turn: You said you went to prep school. Then what, did I lend a pencil to a holographic image of you?"

"Ah," Wes smirked, and tapped the side of his nose. "I wanted a change. And hey, I didn't vandalise the place or anything, so they can't charge me." He laughed, and she couldn't help but laugh either – he really was so _damn_ adorable, and even having a boyfriend wouldn't be able to prevent the slight _slight_ attraction she might have had. She loved her boyfriend, and she _knew_ that, but Wes was pretty cute. "My turn. How did you and your boyfriend meet? Was it, like... moonlit sky, love at first sight – poetry involved? That's usually how my brother hits on girls – he's in this bar, and just goes up: 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's'... Something like that. But when _I_ try, they spit in my face, and think I'm taking the mickey, which I'm _not_ , but–"

"I met him when I was thirteen," Aria interrupted him, a slight grimace on her face – she didn't really like the 'pleasantries' of talking about Alison. She saw Wes' eyes widen.

"Childhood sweethearts, then?" Wes raised an eyebrow.

"No," Aria shook her head. "Nothing like that. He's – was – my best friend's older brother. Well, technically he still... he's not." She sighed, and shook her head again. "It's a really complicated story. But yes, I was thirteen, he was... I don't remember... wait, eighteen? We only got together when I came back from Iceland. So I was sixteen."

Wes looked at her, before finally speaking, "You're dating a ghost?"

" _What_?" Aria said incredulously.

"Is he, what... a part-time brother, then?" Wes would usually snicker at this, but his face stayed as serious as ever.

"No..."

Wes seemed like he was edging for information. Except, he seemed to know about it already. The buzzing of her phone saved Aria, and she went to check the message.

 **I can see you.**  
— **Hanna**

Aria looked around, before it buzzed again.

 **With a guy.**

Aria laughed, and typed back:

 **Where are you?**  
— **Aria**

Hanna waved on the other side of the road, and Aria laughed again, to herself, before saying to Wes, "I need to go. It was nice spending time with you."

"Yeah," nodded Wes. "See you soon?"

"Uhuh," Aria said, before waving, and crossing the road to meet up with Hanna, who seemed to be squinting at Wes – typically. "Han, Han, Han. Remember _Caleb_?" Aria snapped a few fingers in front of her face, causing her to (finally) acknowledge her existence.

"Who's he?" Hanna asked, a grin widening on her face.

"Caleb?"

"No," Hanna shook her head. "The guy you were talking to."

"Oh," Aria said. "A friend."

" _A friend_ ," stated Hanna, laughing. "Remember _Jason_?"

Aria rolled her eyes. "His name is Wes. He's Ezra's younger brother, and yes, I remember Jason. We're just friends, and up untl now, I thought him as a creepy stalker, but he's sweet, and maybe an asshold at times, but..." Aria giggled, and lowered her voice. "He's _kind of_ cute."

Hanna giggled along, and nodded. "He is. Scrap 'kind of'. He's freaking _adorable_. Let's just not tell Caleb and Jason that."

Aria laughed. "No. But come on, we all think each other's boyfriends as cute. I mean, Caleb's pretty cute. The long hair, bad boy-ness..."

Hanna grinned. "Why do you think I went for him in the first place? Toby..." She stopped, and decided not to settle on that subject. "And, well... we all had a crush on Jason back then – even Spencer. A little gross now. And Ali would skin us. Probably. But Jason's more hot than cute. Actually, I don't know." She paused. "Ben was good-looking. But he's a fat-faced jerk."

"Agreed," nodded Aria. "Ali always told Emily that she was cute."

"If I was a lesbian," remarked Hanna. "I would _totally_ go for Emily."

"Or Paige," laughed Aria.

"You know," Hanna said with a grin on her face. "I think we should turn gay."

And they ran down the street in giggles.

* * *

The reinterment was nearing. If Jason said he wasn't nervous, that would be one blatant lie, because his stomach was churning, and his mind was turning into a full-on hurricane, and he just... _couldn't_.

The girls were set to be coming soon. CeCe was coming. Spencer wasn't.

 _Five minutes._

He waited in front of the mausoleum for his parents – he knew that his divorced parents meeting again wouldn't be a pretty sight, so he decided to bite his tongue, and step back from any arguments. Kenneth had moved into an apartment on the outskirts of Rosewood, and his mother was in Georgia, or something like that.

 _Three minutes_.

"Jason, you're early," his mother said, and she kissed his forehead. Jason was left pretty emotionless, but Jessica didn't notice it (no one really did), and he was glad for that. She kissed him again, and gave him another hug. "I missed you so much, sweetie."

"Yeah," nodded Jason. "So did I." _I know why you're acting like this, Mom. You lost the wrong kid. You lost the wrong kid. You lost_ her _, when you wished you lost me_. "Um... have you been in contact with Dad since you two..."

"No," she said. "Let's not talk about that."

"Let's not talk about anything," he replied. He used the double meaning well.

 _One minute_.

"Jason. Jessica."

Both mother and son turned to the voice. Jessica nodded at him politely, as did Jason.

* * *

It was very quiet.

Two seconds in, and Jessica was already sobbing, with Kenneth awkwardly patting her back. Jason just stood there, watching it al unravel.

She left, he left, and Jason was alone again.

He was used to that. It was all okay.

As he walked out, he took out his phone, searching for any messages – then it went off.

 **I'm taking your mother home. You be safe.**  
— **Dad**

Jason rolled his eyes, sat on the bench in front of the temple-like place, and waited.

Then, he felt a sudden hand on his shoulder.

Aria.

"I came early," Aria said. "I see your parents, left early, too."

"More than just early," he said, sighing a little.

Aria held out her hand, and he took it. It was nice and quiet, just them two, here. The sky was unfolding with the little specks of colours that they perhaps hadn't had the time to appreciate. Rosewood was beautiful. It was just too ugly to claim any attention.

"I'm glad your safe," Aria smiled weakly. "And I'm glad we're okay, too. Let's just hope A won't... stop us from being together." Her voice was suddenly desperate. Jason saw Aria's eyes turn longing, too. They'd fallen apart before. But A wasn't going to stop them anymore... right?

"Fingers crossed," he whispered. Then he looked out, and saw Hanna and Emily in the distance. They walked up to the two of them, and Jason said, "Let's go inside." He looked to see if either Spencer or CeCe was coming, but he couldn't see either of them in sight.

They kept on walking until he stopped at where Alison was. CeCe was already there.

"What are you doing here?" asked Aria.

"Pretty obvious," CeCe said.

"I didn't see you arrive," said Jason.

"Back door," CeCe explained. "It's quicker."

Aria gave Jason a look, in which he whispered in her ear, "I asked her to come. She was close to Ali as well. It wouldn't be fair." Aria sighed, but nodded.

"I've never admired life more," CeCe spoke out from nowhere. "All this... deadness."

"Are we waiting for Spencer?" asked Emily.

Jason shrugged. "Just for a few minutes, yeah? I know she told us she wouldn't be coming, but... minds change, you know?"

But it was evident she wasn't coming. They moved closer to where her stone was.

 **Alison DiLaurentis**  
 **Unable are the loved, for love is immortality.**

Hanna shivered. "Creepy."

Aria hid a laugh. "It's... Emily Dickinson."

Hanna shrugged. "I don't care if it's Santa Claus, consider me creeped."

Jason smiled. "It's okay," he said. "It is a touch creepy in here. My parents didn't stay two minutes." (Two _seconds_ , in actual fact.) No one said anything else after that. Aria squeezed his hand. Jason looked out in front of him.

The silent respects they were paying were suddenly interrupted by the opening of a door.

Spencer.

Jason looked at her, the same unruly curls, and pale face, and said, "Spencer! You changed your mind."

"No," Spencer shook her head, in a voice almost venomous. "I just knew I could find you here. I _do_ have something to say to you." Almost as soon as she said this, the girls whiplashed, devoting their attention – rather unwanted one – to her.

"Spencer, don't," Hanna pressed on.

"Not here. Not now," Aria hissed, and stole a glance at Jason.

Emily and CeCe exchanged looks – by the way CeCe was looking, she knew about... whatever they were talking about, too.

Spencer took no notice, and carried on, "Ali was pregnant, when she was killed."

Jason stopped. And then he looked around, the panic arising in his throat. "What? Is this true?"

"Spencer, no!" Aria exclaimed.

"How..." Jason didn't know what to do. "Who..."

"Who's the father?" Spencer said. She laughed cynically. "Now, that's the best part..."

More outbursts from the girls. But Jason couldn't hear anything. "Who, Spencer?"

"Detective Wilden," Spencer proclaimed. "One of Rosewood's finest."

Jason looked at her, and then at the others. His heart was racing, and his head was...

He walked off, almost ran. Jason was good at that. He was good at running from his problems.

Aria watched as he went, and then looked back at the other girls – Spencer in particularly. Hanna was the first to break the short-lived silence. "Please tell me this is part of some brilliant Spencer plan."

Emily shook her head. "It's not. She's just hurting, and wants us to hurt just as bad." Even CeCe shot her a dark look.

"We're your friends, not your punching bags," said Aria, and she got up, following after Jason. She called out his name, several times, and wondered where he was. "Jason?" She walked further in, hoping he was still there, and heard her.

"She was pregnant."

His voice was so quiet, so weak, yet it was louder than the whole world.

"Jason," Aria said.

"Did you know?" Jason asked, more to himself, rather than her.

"I'm sorry," Aria murmured.

Jason shook his head. He shook it again. "We used to tell each other everything." Aria couldn't help but wonder if he was talking about _them_. "When we were younger. Hell, we even had our own language. But then things changed, and they stayed like that. We completely drifted apart, and we lived in the same house, ate all the same meals... and yet... We used to be close."

"I – we – were going to tell you..."

"But you didn't," he concluded.

Aria frowned. Was he angry? "It was going to hurt you, you knowing. You were already hurting."

Jason shook his head. "You don't think not knowing hurts more? Not knowing _what happened_? Not knowing how I just _let her_ go and get pregnant?"

"Don't turn this around, Jason," said Aria.

"I'm not. I'm just looking at it in detail," Jason said. "Because it seems like if I leave it alone, then _no one_ is going to tell me _anything_. It's getting fuzzier by the second."

"I'm not here to fight," Aria said, giving up.

"Good," Jason said. "because I'm not either."

"You're doing it again!" Aria said suddenly.

"Doing _what_?"

"Running away from you problems – _just like that_."

Jason shook his head, not turning around. Unlike last time, Aria didn't chase after him. The embers were dying.

* * *

"I'm pretty sure you'd hate this," Jason said, as he leaned against her stone. The carved words were digging into his back, but he only pressed against harder, because he was feeling so much pain, that feeling more made it better. "Surrounded by all these... dead people. These meaningless quotes they stamp on – it's stupid, I think. These quotes. They're words of others, and you think it describes the person they love, and yet how would they know? It's stupid." He sighed. "You'd want your stone bright yellow, and you'd want something like, 'Bitch, I'm alive, so fuck the hell off' on it. Not... Emily Dickinson."

He shivered as he looked around.

"Hanna was right," Jason said. "No matter what I'm saying... consider me creeped."

"I'm sorry."

He turned around.

He swallowed on each word.

"I shouldn't have said anything. I was just... confused."

"Spencer, stop," Jason said. "I don't want this to turn into another argument." His and Aria's was one thing.

"It's just..." Spencer started to sob, taking her slowly, rattling through her body. They became louder, and more than a few tears, it seemed like she was coming out for air at each one. Jason let him fall into his arms, a second time, and seek warmth. She was cold. "Toby."

"I know," Jason whispered into her hair.

"No, Toby."

"I know."

"No," Spencer shook her head. "Toby. Toby's _A_."

 _What am I going to do?_

 _Jason, what am I going to do?_

It all seemed to be making sense.

* * *

 **Well, that took a rather drastic turn, didn't it?**

 **I hope (to all who celebrate) you all had a great Easter :D We're already nearing the end of March, dear God. I'm calling March 2016 the month of FF for me, because I posted more oneshots/stories in this month than in any other, lol (8/17).**

 **Anyway, I hope to update ASAP :)**


	29. Free Fall

**This was rather hard to write. Writer's Block has had me like -_- and I have no idea what's going to happen in chapters to follow. I'm going to try and finish S3 by the end of Easter break, though. Thank you for all your reviews/follow/favourites already :)))**

* * *

 **free fall**

* * *

 _pick up the bones_  
 _but leave the soul alone_  
 _boy with a broken soul_  
 _heart with a gaping whole_  
 _—_ _ **ms mr**_

* * *

Almost as soon as she had said it, Spencer seemed to regret it – her head jerked away, and she pulled from his grasp. Her face showed a hundred different shades of "I shouldn't have told you", and she was once again spiralling down the pit of destruction, perhaps going even faster. She was tumbling, falling, and again, sobbing.

"Spence, stop..."

"No. No. _No_ ," Spencer repeated over and over again.

Jason looked at her with all sincerity. "Why didn't you tell us? We were worried sick about you."

Spencer shook her head several times. " _No_... I wanted to, but it hurt... it hurt, and..." She turned around completely, still shaking her head. "I – I – couldn't. I shouldn't have told you either. I – _fuck_ , I'm such a... this is so, so, _so_ screwed up..." Her voice trailed off, and she collapsed onto the floor, her hands covering her ears. "A... A... I just made A... Toby... I _told_ you! Why did I tell you?"

Jason was confused, but decided not to question. "I'll drive you."

"A warned me!" exclaimed Spencer. "And I _told_ you... I..."

"I'm going to drive you," Jason said, and pulled Spencer's arm gently – she still seemed in denial, for a lot of things, really. Jason was bursting with questions, but Spencer was already in hysterics, and asking would provoke more feelings that would cause her to scream, or do something even more rash.

When they were in the car, Spencer turned to him in a stolen moment, and with a voice full of desperation it simply _was not_ Spencer, she pleaded, " _Please_ don't tell the other girls. You _can't_... It was a mistake telling _you_ , too. Because... I _messed up_ , and now you know, A knows, and A will..."

"Spencer," Jason pressed. "Nothing's going to happen to me."

"How do you know that? You don't know _what_ A is capable of!" Spencer said. "And I don't know if it's either Mona, or T-Toby, or someone else, but remember the Halloween train? The message? A's not built for compassion. A will do _anything_ to break you, to break me, to break them."

Jason pursed his lips.

"I beg of you, Jason," Spencer said, and she closed her eyes. "Please don't tell anyone."

Jason looked out in front of him – it had started to rain. The little droplets ran down the car window. He would roll up the roof, but he couldn't remember how to, because his head was spinning, and he _didn't understand the world_.

"Okay," Jason stated. "I won't. But remember, they – I – can _help_ you."

"No one can help me," Spencer said. "I don't need helping."

Jason sighed. They reached Spencer's house within minutes, and with a more-than-brief thank you, and then yet another, " _promise_ me you won't tell", she was off. Jason sighed again, and only wondered how he was going to get out of a situation like this. He was double crossed.

And, to make matters even worse, (for some reason), he pulled out his phone, and called the police department.

* * *

Aria arrived at school the following morning as normal, with Hanna and Emily (Spencer was _still_ off the hut, and as of yesterday, they really didn't know what to make of her). The memorial came into mind, and then, of course, but inevitably, her fight with Jason – they had been _okay_ , they hadn't fought in a long time. And yes, fights were bound to happen, but this was different. This was different, in a sense that they were like china dolls, and the simplest of tiffs could make them fall and shatter into a million pieces. But this wasn't just a _tiff_ , it was words that stood for hundreds of definitions. Words that were like daggers, like chess pieces, like poison.

She shouldn't have been angry at him – he was confused, upset, and she overreacted. But then again, she did the right thing. She was pretty sure of that.

Her head turned, as her thoughts were interrupted by a certain Spencer Hastings screaming at a certain Andrew Campbell, with a certain Mona Vanderwaal not far from where their (yes, again) fight was situated.

"Like what I said yesterday," started Emily. "This is Toby, and much, much more."

"Yeah, but what would 'much, much more' be?" questioned Hanna. "A break up is a break up. Yes, they're probably the crappiest thing in relationships, but a break up is a break up. And if it's _A_ we're talking about, then, well, we're not trying to kill Andrew Campbell."

Aria shrugged. "Have you asked Toby, Em?"

Emily sighed. "Well, I left a ton of messages... but he hasn't responded." She paused. "I could bring cupcakes, and try to uplift her mood."

"I doubt anything will be able to uplift," Hanna gestured to Spencer, still in battle. " _that_."

"There was never any harm in trying," shrugged Aria.

"I know," Hanna said, sighing. They headed the other way, but Spencer's shouts were still evident. "You know, I forgot to mention this, but when I went to that interview, and when you were ill, Aria, I saw a blonde girl in a red coat."

"Like, red coat as in _red coat_?" asked Emily.

"Like Vivian Darkbloom _red coat_?" Aria added.

"Yup," Hanna said, but Aria wasn't listening to whatever else she had to say, because her eye caught onto a certain somebody – a certain somebody with dirty-blonde hair, carrying, as always, a couple of yellow files. He seemed completely unscathed of the events of the day before, but Aria knew better of his camouflage. And it made her feel bad. "You go on, Aria," grinned Hanna, when she followed Aria's gaze.

Aria stayed unmoving. "I don't think I can."

"Our talking is over," Hanna said. "Go to lover boy."

"We had another argument," she said admittedly.

"Let me guess, about the whole not-telling-him-about-the-pregnancy?" asked Emily.

"Pretty much," Aria nodded. "It doesn't feel the same any more."

"Well, then," Hanna said, and she pushed him towards Jason's direction – he hadn't seemed to have spotted them, but still Aria was a little reluctant. " _Make_ things feel the same. Go to him, fix things. A's already wrecked too many relationships – don't let it happen to you two, too."

Aria bit her lip, but nodded, and walked towards Jason. She tapped him on his shoulder, causing him to turn around. At the sight of her, he gave her a shy smile, and offered a small, "Hey."

Aria sighed – this was getting old. "Can we talk about yesterday?"

Jason's reply was a little unexpected – "Can we forget about yesterday?"

That sounded better than talking over, thinking things through, fighting yet again.

"That's the best idea I've ever heard," Aria said, smiling, before leaning in to kiss him – it was as chaste as a kiss on the school grounds could get. They were okay. They were okay. They were okay. They were going to get through this, and A wouldn't stop that.

"I'd love to stay here, and kiss you all day long," laughed Jason. "But I have kids to counsel, and I think you have lessons to endure." Aria groaned at the mere mention, causing Jason to laugh again – then, his expression changed, and it was one very similar to what Aria sported a few days back, when she hadn't come clean about knowing of Alison's pregnancy. He seemed urgent to tell her something, but then he quickly shook his head, as if to shake off the very thought.

"Why don't I come over later?" Aria said.

"Hm," Jason smiled. "That sounds good."

"Great," Aria smiled at him. "Don't have _too_ much fun with the kids."

Jason raised an eyebrow, but shook his head off , and laughed. Aria waved, and walked off, into the school's main building – Hanna and Emily were already inside, but her gaze was elsewhere. And his gaze was meeting hers – Wes was not so far from her.

"I see your boyfriend," Wes said as he walked towards where Aria was.

"I see a holograph," Aria remarked. "Is it really you?"

Wes laughed. "I've done it. I'm officially a no-no at my stupid prep school. They've banned me. _Completely._ I can't go. Nein. Non. Nada." He paused, and rubbed the back of his neck. "And I'm crashing at Ezra's, because my mom's gone into blitzkrieg mode, and I assure you, it's not the nicest image."

Aria couldn't help but construct an image of a barbarian, with Wes' hair, and Ezra's face, maybe in the process of him shouting.

"I see," nodded Aria. "Um... am I supposed to congratulate you?"

Wes shrugged. "That would be nice."

"Okay, well," Aria started. "Well done for getting expelled. Now, I have to go, it was nice seeing you again, and maybe if you don't try to interrogate my boyfriend again, I'll lend you another pencil." She laughed again, and saw Wes break into a smile, too.

"I'd appreciate that," Wes smirked. "Sorry, but wait... your boyfriend goes to school here?"

"No," Aria said. "He's a counsellor. And that's strike one."

"You have a very interesting boyfriend!" Wes said in defence.

It was like before – Wes definitely knew something. He knew something, and yet he was only asking more and more each time. And although Aria tried to ignore it, she certainly wanted to know _what_ exactly he was letting on, and _what_ exactly he wasn't.

* * *

"...And Spencer's still acting really strange, and we know it's about Toby, but..." Aria frowned. "It seems a lot heavier than that. I've never seen Spencer like that. It's slightly unnerving – it's just... Spencer's falling apart, and we don't know what we're supposed to be doing."

Aria sighed again, as she leaned her head on Jason's shoulder. At Spencer's mention, Jason stiffened, but recovered quickly with a smile – Aria _almost almost_ didn't notice this. She decided to do no more, because it was probably because of the draught coming from the kitchen window.

"Her break with Toby must have hit her pretty hard," Jason said.

"Yeah," murmured Aria.

The silence was good. It felt... right. And she couldn't be happier, because their relationship was going as strong as ever, and they _would_ be able to make it out alive, together, and there was nothing A would be able to do about it. The silence felt like triumph. And it was certainly one of the best feelings she could ever explain.

Then, it was interrupted by the unlocking of a door, and a few footsteps.

Jason creased his eyebrow. "Who would that be?"

Aria stood up, too, and picked up the lamp, if it was to be a burglar. "I told you. Putting keys under doormats are just asking for a burglary."

They watched, and they watched – until the intruder came into sight. He eyed them both with an expression he rarely went without – Kenneth. Aria didn't really remember Ali and Jason's dad, and the times she did, he hadn't exactly been a teddy bear. His gaze was withholding, always with that fieriness, and his words were cold, and firm, as always.

"What are you doing here?" Kenneth shot at Aria.

"Um..." Aria started. "I was just leaving."

"Good."

"No, Aria," Jason said. "Stay."

Kenneth's look was murderous, but Jason's was desperate. She wasn't going to leave Jason, and his father alone, so she nodded.

Jason cleared his throat, "Let me make some dinner." And he disappeared into the kitchen.

It was silent again – but by no means was this a _good_ kind of silence, because each second was stretched out, and more unbearable by the next one.

"So..." started Kenneth, seemingly out of the blue. "When are you going to stop bothering him?"

"Wh-who?" Aria stuttered.

"My son," he said, with a little roll of his eyes. "Who else? Look, I don't know whether you're in it for information, or something else, but _leave him alone_. He has enough problems without having a girl squandering around him like a lost puppy, when all you ever want to get your hands on are the 'dark details'. I think you get what I mean, don't you?"

Aria stared at him, incredulous. "You think I'm in it for _information_? About Alison?" How fucking _sick_ was this? "Mr DiLaurentis, I think you might find that I happen to be with your _son_ , because I love him, not because I want, what you call, the 'dark details'." She placed her hands on her hips, and impatiently waited for him to reply.

He raised an eyebrow. "Whatever trap you're trying to lure _—_ "

"Dad, stop it." Jason appeared out of nowhere, crossing his arms. "Leave it."

Aria cursed inwardly to herself. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

A plate of food was in front of her, but she wasn't hungry. Not at all. Kenneth was still shooting rather unwelcoming questions, and she'd never felt more uncomfortable in her life. When Kenneth had finally averted his eyes from Aria, and picked up a conversation with Jason, Aria took out of her phone, and read through any messages.

 **Cupcakes didn't work.**  
 _—_ **Emily**

Aria sighed. So Spencer was still in a state.

 **I suspected as much**  
 _—_ **Aria**

 **Hey! Texting without me?**  
 _—_ **Hanna**

 **Yeah, Han. Twice.**  
 _—_ **Emily**

Aria looked up to see both Jason and his dad were still talking.

 **I have to go. Dinner with Mr D-Rex.**  
 _—_ **Aria**

How many more minutes was it now?

 **Eek. Good luck.**  
 _—_ **Hanna**

Fifty? Forty?

 **Thanks. I need it.**  
 _—_ **Aria**

She needed all the luck in the world to survive. The clock was ticking.

* * *

"I don't think your dad likes me very much," stated Aria, after dinner (finally) ended – Kenneth was still at the table, eyeing the two with an eye more suspicious than most. To say things were awkward was very much an understatement, and Aria would never relive the past hour if she was given the world.

"Well, my dad doesn't like anyone," Jason said, suppressing a small smile. "Except for my sister, probably. And I guess there was a short period where he liked my mother. And maybe when I was five." He sighed. "Just ignore him – he usually has these strops."

Jason leaned in to kiss him – it was a bit like when he had dinner over at hers, and Meredith was getting all personal with the questions, and Byron was pissing her off. He kissed her, rough, but not so much, and made sure Kenneth was looking.

"Your dad's looking at us," Aria whispered.

He grinned. " _That's_ the point." At this, she laughed. Talk about parallels.

"Goodnight," Aria whispered again as she finally let go.

"'Night," smiled Jason.

And so Aria left the house, somewhat happier than before, for they were okay. And yes, she'd somehow got it burned in her brain, but she had to, or the dream would fade away. They were okay. They were okay. She loved him. He loved her. They were okay.

Cue: _buzz buzz_.

Aria's pocketed phone was ringing – she took it out, checking the caller.

"CeCe?" Aria wondered to herself. It wasn't pitch black, but you'd have to classify the sky as dark, for it was night, and so why would CeCe be calling her? And anyway, although they weren't _not_ friends, they weren't _friends_ , either. If this was some errand she needed her to run, then...

" _Darling?_ " CeCe's cheerful voice filled the line. " _Aria, are you there?_ "

"Uh, yeah," Aria said nervously. "What did you need?"

" _Okay, so this is like, a really huge favour, but Spencer said you were all about creativity, and apparently you like photography, and stuff, so I was wondering if you could comne and shoot some pictures for my store's website? I mean, I did have one, but he was bogus, and I had to fire him,_ " CeCe paused. " _Am I going to get an answer?_ "

"Yes," Aria said quickly. "Yes, I'd love to."

" _Perfect!_ " CeCe exclaimed. " _Tomorrow, yeah? At the boutique. Bring a friend, whatever."_

And as soon as she hung up, Aria ambled back home as if nothing had happened.

* * *

For Aria, the next day could very well be her last without the world's weight on her shoulders.

For Jason, the next day could very well be his last without _—_

* * *

"Oh, there you are."

Jason looked up from the hoard of papers in his lap, and smiled weakly when he saw Emily walk into the deserted classroom. "Hey. What's up?"

Emily cleared her throat. "I – I wanted to talk to you about what Spencer said at the cemetery. I looked for you yesterday, but couldn't find you, and I don't think Aria said anything..."

Jason shook his head, but then frowned. "Are you going to tell me Spencer made that up about Alison being pregnant?" He sighed. "Come on, Emily, that wasn't breaking news to any of you. If she was pregnant, she was pregnant. And Spencer's damn sure about everything." And now, with him knowing about Toby, he wasn't going to blame it on her. If she knew, then she knew.

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it's true, just because CeCe said it," said Emily.

So Spencer wasn't the one who'd figured it out – it was CeCe. Jason shook his head again, this time in disbelief. "CeCe? Is that who set Ali up with Wilden?"

"N-no," Emily said. "She doesn't even know him. I asked. I just thought it was weird seeing a picture of Wilden up in Cape May?"

At this point, Jason stood up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... what picture? Where'd you see this?"

Emily answered, "Police Station. Wilden and a few of his buddies holding up a fish."

"On a boat?" Jason asked.

"Uhh, it's more of a dock," Emily said, before asking curiously, "Why?"

"Alison made my dad this collage, and there was a picture of her on a boat," Jason said. Pause. "What if it was Wilden's?"

Emily immediately shook her head. "Jason, you can't ask him, okay? If he is trying to hide something it could hurt you. _Don't_ bring up what Spencer said."

But he knew enough already. "It's too late. I already called him." A triumphant smile of some sorts lifted his lips, and he watched as Emily's eyes widen.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. Yet," Jason said. "I left a message. Would sure help, though, if I were armed with more proof."

"Where is that picture of Ali?" Emily asked.

"Probably in some box in my dad's new office," he answered.

"Can I see it?"

And Jason nodded in response.

* * *

As soon as the end-of-school bell went off, Aria rushed outside, pulled Wes with her, and hauled them both into the car park.

"Hi?" Wes said, staring at her strangely.

"Come with me, _please_! I mean, I would get Spencer, or Hanna, or Emily, but Spencer's a little too much on the scary side for me to pluck up a normal conversation – plus, she's not on so-good terms with CeCe. And Hanna's with Caleb, and _his_ father, and that would just be cruel to steer her away for this impromptu-non-promptu teapot photoshoot – Emily's MIA, and so is Jason, so _please please please_ ," Aria pleaded, her words jammed into a slightly messed-up sentence.

"Um... sure?" Wes laughed a little.

"You're the _best_!" Aria squealed. "It's just that things with CeCe and I are... awkward."

"Who's CeCe?" Wes questioned.

"You'll see."

* * *

As soon as the little bell tingled from above the door of _Le Belle Boutique_ , CeCe enveloped Aria with her arms, and her scent was very overwhelming, it threw her off of her feet. CeCe let her go, and turned to Wes, raised an eyebrow, but smiled all the same.

"You're a lifesaver," CeCe said, her bangles jingling. "I almost _killed_ Horace."

"Right," Aria nodded.

CeCe peered at Wes – "Who's your friend?"

"This is Wes," Aria said. "Um... so what did you want me to take photos of?"

CeCe gestured to the endless clothes racks (that even in such shamble looked _classy_ ), and then at a few bits and bobs all over the place. "Something that makes this place look like heaven. The clothes, that little table, the poster. Anything."

Aria nodded, and looked around. "It would be great if you had something round, a little tarnished, like an old teapot."

CeCe nodded. "There might be something in the basement."

Wes spoke up, "D'you want me to go check?"

CeCe flashed Wes a small grin. "Would you? Oh, thanks love."

As soon as Wes scurried off to the door that led to the basement, CeCe turned to Aria, and propped up an eyebrow, and placed a hand on her hips. " _So_... Wes."

"He wanted to help out," said Aria quickly. _And he was very, very enthusiastic about it._

"Oh?'

"Oh," Aria said, and a blush was quickly colouring her cheeks.

" _I've got one_!" Wes called from downstairs.

"Are you and your man good?" CeCe asked.

Aria stared at her. _Your_ man? Now, um... that was a little awkward. "Yes, we're good."

"Wait, _no_!" Wes called out. " _False alarm_!"

"You don't seem to have _him_ on your arm?"

"He's..." _Lie, Aria, lie_. "...With Mr D-Re – DiLaurentis. His dad. Yes, his dad."

(Thankfully) Wes arrived just in the nick of time, so Aria had no need to explain – where Jason actually was had puzzled her, to say the least, but she wasn't going to be one of those annoying, clingy girlfriends. Wes looked a little bashful, and placed a bag on the antique table.

"I, uh, couldn't find a teapot, but I found some other cool stuff," Wes said.

"Brilliant!" CeCe grinned. "Even better, and I'm going to go hunt down some dinner for the three of us, are you guys okay to stay here?" Aria and Wes nodded, and CeCe grabbed her car keys to head off. She winked at Aria. "Don't have _too_ much fun without me."

* * *

Jason and Emily got out of the car in front of his front porch, before jumping at the sight of fifty or more whisky bottles placed upon it. All Jason needed was the keys to his father's apartment, and now he got this.

"What is all this?" asked Emily.

"Looks like someone's offering me a drink." Jason was over his stupid, stupid drinking habits – sure, he had a bit of a slip after they'd returned the bracelet, only to have Garrett released, but he was, more or less, over them. It wasn't perfect, but he _had_ made it.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Yeah, or how Wilden returns phone calls," Jason remarked, and walked to the front porch, opening up the first bottle to pour it down on the ground. He was over, he was _over_ this, but whoever did this, he wanted to punch, like, really, really hard. "Unbelievable, he muttered under his breath.

Emily walked up, trying to help.

"Uh, Em, would you mind grabbing that other trash can?" asked Jason, and she nodded, and complied, helping throw the bottles away. Jason sighed again. "This is freaking crazy. I don't believe this."

Eventually, but finally, the bottles were all in rubbish bins, and the path inside was free. Jason ran in, grabbed the keys from the old vinyl wood chest of drawers he vaguely recalled Alison choosing, and went back outside.

"It's not far from here," Jason said. "C'mon."

Emily nodded, and got in the car. "Jason, I'm sorry about what Spencer said. I mean, it was sure to come out, but I'm sorry she had to say it to you when..."

Jason shook his head. This was not Spencer's fault. Spencer was just broken, and she needed to let out the pain – it wasn't her fault. "Emily, it's fine. I'm fine. We're all fine."

"And about Paige, and Caleb..."

"What about them?"

"How you guys were trying to bring down Mona?" Emily said.

Jason didn't say anything, but continued driving – his head was already aching fit to burst. Maybe it had already done so – maybe that was why all his thoughts, and opinions were all scattered around.

"We did it to try and protect you," Jason said in a soft voice, after several aeons of silence.

"That's what Paige said," frowned Emily.

"And it's the truth," Jason said. "And we're here."

* * *

Things had run with ease – pictures were seemingly easy to take, and Wes had made her laugh. It was nice to have a friend around, and it was nice that that friend needn't be involved with this whole web of A. Aside from Holden, almost a year back, she hadn't had a friend outside _that_ circle.

"I like the look of that," Aria said, tilting her head as she placed the teddy bear on top of the old matchbox, with a stack of clothes in the background. "Has that vintage tinge to it, don't you think?" She took a few more pictures, before turning around to pick up a wine bottle, maybe to add to this 'vintage tinge'.

But when she turned around, it seemed like Wes did, too.

And then the bottle went

 _crash_

onto

the

floor.

Aria closed her eyes – she didn't want to see what a mess she'd made. One eye fluttered open, followed by the other, and then a gasp. "Wes... what the hell did I just do?

"We," said Wes.

"Yeah, what did we do?" Aria gestured at the fallen wine bottle, pieces on the ground. She bent down, quickly picked it up before it turned catastrophic, and saw that a small stain was appearing on the cream mug. " _Wes_ , what do we do now?"

"Um..." Wes looked skeptical. "Hide?"

"Can we scrub that?" Aria said.

"There's a sponge," Wes said, and pointed at the pile of things they had photographed. He picked it up, took two seconds in the bathroom, ran back, and started on the stain. Maybe Aria should have thought ahead, because the sponge was now a nice dark red, and although the wine stain on the rug seemed to have been diluted, it had smudged, and looked more messed up than ever.

"We seem to have a slight problem," Aria said, and bit her lip – so hard, that she yelped.

Wes pushed the rug, and lifted up the table – the stain was fairly invisible, but it didn't make matters any better. This rug, like the countless other things in the room, was probably vintage, and very, very pricey.

"She is definitely going to know that we moved this," Aria said.

"We'll tell her we did it for a great shot," Wes answered, and shrugged. "We cant' exactly hire the _Vanish_ crew, and anyways, this rug's probably made of some unknown synthetic material from Indonesia. This wine's probably three years old. I doubt it would rub out anyhow."

"Way to go, Wes," Aria said. "That makes everything better." She sighed. "At least we're done."

"When's CeCe going to come back?" Wes asked.

"Um... good idea." Aria picked up her phone, and dialled CeCe's number, tapping her fingers on her arm nervously. She looked back at the stained rug, and hoped to dear lord that CeCe wouldn't notice (she probably would, but Aria was going to hold onto that hope). "Hey, CeCe... where are you?"

CeCe groaned from the other side (evidently), and said, " _Don't ask. I mean, I went to the bar to wait for the food, and I had one glass of wine, maybe two, and I come out, and they towed my friggin' car_." Aria would say she was relieved, because she was, but _she had a heart_.

"Where are you? Do you need us to come get you?" Aria queried.

" _No, I'm okay_ ," CeCe laughed shakily. " _I found a credit card that won't bounce: I'm sure I'll get my car back at some point_. _How are you guys?_ "

"Oh, we're great!" Aria said. "A little starved, but we're finished – and I'll email you the JPEGs."

" _Excellent! I'm sorry tonight was such a bust. I owe you big time_ ," CeCe said. " _Bye_."

"Bye."

(And Aria almost _almost_ didn't hear the engine start just as the call ended.)

She turned back to Wes – "Okay, we're all done. Let's pack up and get out of here." They walked together to Aria's car. "So I drop you down Hadley Lane, in Charter Court?" Wes nodded, and she sighed. "I'm going to have a hard time taking money from CeCe. I mean, how much do you think a rug like that costs? More than she's paying us."

"Look, don't worry about it," Wes muttered, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulders – as far as the whole concept of a boy-girl _friendship_ (if that was what it was, maybe an _acquaintance_ for them) went, the hand lingered on way longer than you'd expect to. But Aria ignored it, because Wes was just being nice. He gave her this lopsided grin, and said, "I'm guessing that CeCe's made a few stains herself."

Aria snorted.

Wes winced at his own words. "Okay, that came out all wrong..."

"Come on, big guy," Aria said, shaking her head in laughter. "Car's this way."

Wes followed, his hand finally coming off. "You know, I just remembered – we never got round to finishing our game of ten questions."

Aria got into the car, and so did Wes. She started the engine, checked herself in the mirror, and then devoted her attention to Wes again. "You're right, we didn't."

Wes smiled. "What type of music do you like?"

Aria laughed, glad the word 'boyfriend' hadn't been mentioned ( _shock_ , _horror_ )! "Country. Definitely – it might be something to do with my grandparents being from Tennessee. I guess I caught on with the traits." She paused. "Talking of which..." She turned on the radio, and Chesney blared out. "Are you still annoyed with your brother? You know, that he left?"

Wes looked away. "I don't know. Sort of, I guess, but he's been nice. I guess it's more jealousy than holding grudges. He has that courage that I don't."

"Oh," Aria said.

"Anyway," Wes smiled. "What is up with you and CeCe?"

"What?" Aria interrupted. "There isn't anything up."

"You dragged me over the seven seas because you didn't want to be alone with her – and the tension, boy, the _tension_. You guys have some history?" Wes questioned. "Not that I'm one to judge. No, I'm not judging, I'm just a curious guy."

Aria nibbled on her lip. "I just don't know her that well."

She went down the road, and into the car park where the block of flats were situated – she watched as Wes murmured a quiet "thank you", and walked off.

This was what was going to be, wasn't it? Wes would go, and she would go, and then things would go one a loop-the-loop, because they'd do what they did, laugh, and laugh, but they'd never call themselves 'friends'. She didn't want that. Aria remembered she might have started this conversation, but it was left unfinished, and she wanted to make sure – double sure. She wanted Wes to be her friend.

So she got out of the car, and called out, "Wes."

He turned around.

"Give me your phone," she said, and he did. She punched in her number quickly, and handed it back to him. His look was questioning, but Aria only smiled. "That's my number. My name is Aria Montgomery, and I'd quite like to be your friend." She let a second pass by. "And also because I should split the money with you, you know, if I can still face her."

Wes grinned. "Me too. And My name is Wesley Fitzgerald. And/or Fitz."

They were pretty close – their heads. One movement, and they were sure to pop each other's bubble. Wes looked down at her, and Aria was _so sure_...

She jerked her head away, and murmured, "Um, goodnight, Wes."

"Goodnight, Aria," he said, with maybe a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Aria returned to her car, and drove back home – the drive seemed a little quicker than usual, perhaps due to her slightly – and emphasis on the _slightly_ – pounding heart. It wasn't that Wes triggered some adrenaline rush (okay, maybe it was). She wouldn't be able to deny an attraction, but _she was in love with Jason_. It was something that confused her beyond belief.

She arrived home, and walked in. It was pretty quiet, but Aria didn't mind that, and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

And she opened up a book, and read.

(Things were normal.

They were more than normal.)

* * *

Jason and Emily took the elevator. It was silent for a while, for they hadn't really shared conversations before. Jason noted on how much Emily had changed since before Ali disappeared – now she was daring, fearless. It wasn't as if she wasn't before, because Jason was sure she was, but back then, like many of the others, she had hidden back into hindsight, and let Alison do all of it. Alison had told him (probably _accidentally_ ) about her admiration for the brunette – and he was pretty sure it was the first time in Alison history where Ali had really, genuinely complimented a person.

There was a small _ting_ , and the elevator doors opened.

The apartment, the office, it was a tip. Boxes were everywhere, anywhere, really, and posters came off walls, wallpapers were scraping off.

"It's definitely in here?" asked Emily.

Jason nodded. "I _know_ packed that picture myself."

Emily walked over to several boxes, throwing bubble wrap and polystyrene aside. "When did your dad move here?"

"I think it's been a while. I know he was lying about him going back with Mom, because that was when they split up," Jason explained, and he sighed a little. "I think the move was more about leaving Rosewood than anything else." He then decided he didn't want to talk about his dad, and pointed to a box Emily was standing close by. "I'm pretty sure it's in one of those boxes. I remember that weird print on it."

"That must have been hard," Emily murmured, not quite letting Jason's previous statement go. "Leaving. Or at least... _trying_ to leave. It stays with you, doesn't it?" Jason only nodded numbly. "I was going to go. Away. With my parents, quite a long time ago. But if I did, things would just get worse."

"I get what you mean," Jason said. "It's got monsters in it."

Emily carried on ransacking the different boxes, until she pulled a large, unmistakable framed picture out. She looked pointedly at Jason. "Is this it?"

"Yeah," Jason breathed.

"Why would Ali give this to your dad?"

Jason exhaled deeply. "Typical Ali move. Strolled in one day at dawn. Father went ballistic. This was her apology."

Emily trailed down the writing, and the messages, until she finally found _the_ picture they were looking for. There was Alison, right in the middle, on the deck.

"Whose hand is that on Ali's shoulder?" Jason pointed at the left side. He lifted up the message beside it, to reveal, as said by Spencer, one of Rosewood's finest, Wilden. He looked at Emily – "You check the other side?"

She did so, this time to reveal _CeCe_.

"CeCe told you she didn't know?" Jason questioned.

Emily spoke up. "Why did she lie? Is she protecting him?"

Jason shrugged. "Might be protecting herself."

"Why?"

"Maybe they had their own thing going on," Jason shrugged again. Anything was possible. "Maybe she planned on meeting up with him that night." Once again, anything was possible. He knew that from experience. CeCe was like a Mona, and an Alison crossing the road – she was smarter-than-smart, and a manipulative bitch who had her own twisted ways.

Emily's voice quivered. "Wh-what night?"

Jason focused on the bonsai, his eyes unmoving. "The last night my sister was alive."

* * *

 _His head was swirling, and his eyes..._

 _were_

 _blurring._

 _He'd gotten drunk many times before, and he'd gotten high many times before, but for some reason, for some insane reason, this was different. He found himself getting more and more drunk at each step, and he was surely so high that he could, he didn't even know_ – _the after effects were fucking him up._

 _Maybe he hadn't reached the after effects yet. But his head was pounding, and his vision started to... clear._

 _And then they started to blur again. Jason was never sure, though._

 _He turned around, his hair in his face, and he almost dropped his cup. There were two girls in the middle of the lawn_ – _one was definitely Melissa, her brown, wavy hair still glistening, and her outfit was, as always, of formal attire, even on a day_ – _a night_ – _liek this. The second girl, however, was wearing a yellow shirt._

 _He'd seen that shirt before. Alison had ordered it._

 _"Ali!" He found himself calling her name out. He didn't know why he was even bothered about his sister, because he never really was. The after effects were fucking him up. Or maybe they already had, and he was finally growing sane. "Ali!"_

 _She turned around_ – _they both did. One, definitely, was Melissa._

 _But the other was CeCe Drake_ – _his girlfriend_.

 _Jason was seeing stars, and he collapsed in the chair by the decking._

* * *

"Jason, when police were questioning you about that night, why wouldn't you just tell them?" Emily asked.

"I never trusted that _that_ as what I really saw. I was drunk, and really, really high. I was positive I was hallucinating," Jason answered, and his voice was slightly wobbly, too. "And besides, if I had told them, that would have meant I was awake, even for a minute."

Pause.

"And that would have made me a suspect."

Emily seemed to have opted not to say anything after that, and Jason was glad. He hated thinking about the past.

They went back into the elevator, Jason holding the picture in his hand.

The elevator seemed to have come to a sudden halt, because what would have been a ten-second 'journey', turned jolty.

"What was that?" Emily turned to Jason, searching for an answer.

Jason rarely had solutions, and so he shook his head. "I have no idea."

Another jolt.

And then it completely stopped.

Emily looked around frantically, as did Jason. Jason had no freaking clue what to do, but they _needed_ to get out, and so he proceeded to try and open the elevator doors with his own hands. Emily turned to him, and made a gesture towards the alarm bell.

"You can try, but I doubt they'd answer," Jason said.

The lights flickered.

With a grunt, he opened the doors completely, to which Emily murmured, "You all right?"

"I got it," he said. "Just give me a sec." He took a comfortable grasp, before turning back to Emily. "Okay. We can make that jump." It wasn't like a glass window, but the jump they'd have to make was fairly visible, and it was nothing they wouldn't be able to handle. After all, Emily was a swimmer, and diving was what she did, wasn't it? "Just push off, and keep your knees bent."

Emily crouched down, and then looked up. "Have you done this before?"

 _What, we're twenty or so metres from our deaths, holding a picture that apparently means a detective got my sister pregnant, and also apparently means my ex-girlfriend's a liar, and is most definitely in on... whatever this. Oh, and my other sister's boyfriend is A._ "Hell no."

Emily swallowed. "Okay." She looked down, and her eyes turned into orbs. "Oh my gosh."

Jason's heart was beating out of his chest, but he tried to calm himself. "Hey, hey, you'll be fine. You can make it." Emily still seemed to be in denial. "Come on, Em. Hey, hey, look at me. You can make that."

"Who's going to hold the doors open for you?"

Jason decided not to answer that. He wasn't smart enough to be ten steps ahead.

"Is somebody up there?" Jason called, looking above.

"Oh my god, oh my god..." Emily repeated.

"Emily, let's go, right now," Jason said.

"I can't do this, I can't do this." Emily was close to tears. Jason didn't know what to do.

"Em, yes, you can," Jason said. "You can do it. You can do it, alright? Come on."

Another jolt. They were now further away.

"I can't... I can't..."

"Emily, you can do this," Jason said, and gave her the weakest of smiles. "Emily, let's go, now!"

Jason closed his eyes as she jumped. The _bang_ meant she'd done it. He felt immensely better.

"I'll hold the door open for you," Emily said, and Jason let go. He was about to jump.

And then there was another jolt, Emily was thrown backwards, _he_ was thrown backwards, and all he knew was that he was going

down

down

down

and that

he

couldn't

breathe.

* * *

Aria was on page two hundred and seventy-seven when her phone went off. She picked it up, seeing a message from Emily.

 **S.O.S**

 **It's Jason. He's at the hospital in Philly. Hurry!**

— **Emily**

Aria bolted up, and her heart plummeted.

What did this mean? _What had happened_? _Why_?!

She sprinted down, just as her phone went off again.

* * *

"Did they give you something for the pain?" Emily asked softly. She seemed near to tears.

"Yeah, but it's making me thirsty," Jason said, his voice raspy, and weak.

Emily passed him the cup of water. "Here," she sighed. "You were really lucky, Jason. It's amazing you survived."

The water tasted sour as it went down his throat. He emitted a light laugh. "Yeah. This time. You and Spencer were right about the N.A.T Club." His green eyes met Emily's light brown ones. "Someone wants me gone."

Pause.

"I don't have the picture anymore. It's gone."

Emily swallowed again, and took his cup. "I – I'll get you some more water, yeah?"

His response was weak, as normal. "Yeah. Thanks."

* * *

Aria gripped onto Hanna's hand all the journey.

"Hanna, what do you think happened? Why is he at the hospital? Is he really hurt? Hanna! Hanna? I don't understand... why... why was he with Emily? Do you know? What happened?" Aria didn't stop with the questions – they kept on flowing. "You don't think he's..."

"He's not, Ari," Hanna pressed on. "It's okay. It's going to be all okay."

Aria wished she could believe that.

She almost sprinted into the hospital, and as soon as she locked eyes with Emily, hauled Hanna with her, and almost knocked a nurse down flat.

"Emily, wh-wh-what happened? Where's Jason? Is he okay? He's okay, right? He's all okay?"

Emily looked hesitant to answer, and instead looked at Hanna. "There's a photo of Ali, and CeCe, and Wilden." She eyed Aria, who _could not care less_ about this stupid picture. "It was... it was taken on Wilden's boat that summer in Cape May."

"Well, show it to us," Hanna said.

" _Emily, where is Jason_?"

"I can't," Emily said. "It... it disappeared in the... in the a-accident."

" _EM_!" Aria exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"Can we see him?"

All three heads turned, and looked to see Spencer walk down toward them.

"I'm... I'm getting him some more water," Emily stammered, and kept her eyes steady on Aria. "Aria... I'm really..."

"I'm sorry," interrupted Spencer.

Emily seemed glad for the subject change. "Me too."

"Excuse me?" A nurse strolled in, and looked at all four of them. "Where's your friend?"

" _What_?" exclaimed Aria.

"Your friend. The patient in bed three, Jason DiLaurentis," the nurse carried on. "Where'd he go?"

 _What?_

Aria was the first to run in. Surely he wasn't gone. Mind games. Mind games. It was all just a mind game.

His bed was empty.

His tubes had been disconnected.

It was all gone.

 _He_ was all gone.

Aria fell limp in Hanna's arm.

 _Jason?_

 _Jason, where are you?_

* * *

 **Where is he? Yeah, you can see I rushed the ending.**

 **From next chapter onwards... nothing stays quite the same.**


	30. He Knew Too Much

**It's like I _know_ what's going to happen, but then I don't. I'm not thinking properly, and so this chapter's a little all over the place, okay, okay _understatement_ , but I have put an explanation (of some sorts) in the second A/N. But thank you for all your support already, and for _OVER ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS_! Special thanks to _ThroughThePages_ for being my one hundredth reviewer :))**

* * *

 **he knew too much**

 _you fell down by the wayside  
love locked in an overflow  
and you threw stones at the starlight  
— **oh wonder**_

* * *

Jason was running.

He was running, and he was running, and he was running – he wasn't quite sure where it was he was heading to (he had too much of a thumping heart to consider north, west, east, and south), but it was somewhere. It was _somewhere_ , because _anywhere_ was better than Rosewood.

He was a coward. But he knew that. He knew that well – Jason was pretty good at running away, from his problems especially.

Jason was always good at playing pretend – when he and Alison were younger, they used to play this game, in which they wouldn't be the DiLaurentis children, but, he didn't even know, Inuits, Aztecs, the monarchs – it always changed. Jason was also quite a good liar – he believed that that was what he got from his mother, for the genetics seemed to have passed through to Ali, too, hence her tendency to manipulate everything that moved. Yet... maybe he got it from _Peter_ – how was Melissa able to keep her, _cough_ , good girl act for so long? And Spencer with Toby, and A. And, well, just _him_ , in general.

It hurt when he ran, it really did, but his injuries weren't as bad as the impression he'd given off (he guessed, like the PD, Rosewood just ran with corrupters) – falling down the elevator shaft had shaken him up _for sure_ , but his neck wasn't broken (although his arms definitely were: he could _feel_ the pain rattling through insidiously), and he could move around with a sense of ease. It wasn't smooth, and it was nowhere near _okay_ , but it was all had, currently, and he was not going to screw up.

He jumped into his car as soon as he'd made it to his house, pulled on some random pieces of clothing, and drove off into the distance, cursing under the inky black swirls, somewhere.

* * *

" _Where is he_?" Aria sobbed into Hanna's shirt. "People don't just _disappear_..."

Hanna shook her head, and the others just eyed the empty bed in pure disbelief – she was right, Aria was, for people _didn't_ just disappear, and Jason had fallen down a freaking elevator shaft, and had suffered from, although not so major, pretty severe injuries, and now, yes, he had _disappeared_. Spencer, too, soon followed after Aria, and started to cry, letting Emily hold her.

"This is my fault," murmured Emily. "I – I asked to go to his dad's apartment."

"It isn't your fault, Em," Aria said, soothingly, yet shakily – her mind was going walk-abouts, and all she could see was stars, and spots, and darkness, yet blue, and her mind, it was chanting, _WHAT HAPPENED? WHERE IS HE_? "It's just... Emily, _what happened_?" She kept her sobs in place as she let the silent thoughts rest.

Emily swallowed several times, and stammered – "We were at his dad's office, and then we found the picture. We got into the elevator, and everything was normal, but then it stopped, and..."

Aria regretted asking.

Emily took a quick breath. "And it... it just happened. I had... I wasn't... I didn't know what I was meant to do. I was out, and Jason was... gone."

Spencer spoke up, "It was either someone taking him... or he literally just picked himself up and ran."

" _To where_?" interrupted Hanna.

"Hanna's right," Emily said, nodding solemnly. "With a broken neck?"

Aria pulled out her phone in a frenzy, and maybe conclusions were being skipped to, but her mind was really not in a sane state, because she _needed_ to know where Jason was – and if he was going on with a _broken neck_ , then...

Aria decided not to think about that. In fact, she felt like anything she remotely _thought_ about triggered something to do with a broken neck, and that only led her back to Jason, and things only got more complex from there – for _where the hell was he_? Was it A who'd taken him – Mona? But even for her… that was going to extremes not possibly explainable, and if they followed on from what Spencer said – was Jason really capable of just _picking himself up_ , and running away?

She swallowed her words, because she didn't want to say anymore – as Spencer, Hanna, and Emily talked on about Jason, and everything else, Aria let herself zone out, _completely_ stopping, her tears drying (for now, anyway). Her gaze turned elsewhere.

Maybe she was too clogged up with thoughts too heavy, but she swore – _she swore_ – that outside the blinds of the hospital window, she caught sight of _Toby_. He probably came with Spencer… but that was… It was probably—

An illusion.

It _had_ to be.

All of it.

* * *

He found himself at Aunt Carol's – it was a place he hadn't been to since he was possibly six or seven, but from all he knew, it had been in a pretty secluded area. All of it, in fact, not just the cottage – the garden, and even each room had its own mysterious aura around it. He found it strange, for he remembered things from more than a decade ago, and yet nothing from _that night_ , apart from being drunk, and seeing CeCe.

( _Push it away, Jason. Stop thinking._ )

Three breaths. It was enough to calm him down – or rather, enough to calm him down _enough_ for him not to collapse epileptically, or something like that.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" said someone.

His ears perked up, but his eyes stayed down. He was freezing, he was freezing, _he was freezing_ , and his _arms_ , they were aching – his neck suddenly stung. None of this was making any sense, and yet his vision, it was clearing.

"Jason, what happened to you?"

"I had to…" His words were getting all muddled up – finally, he _did_ look up, and saw his mother by the steps. Her look was of genuine concern, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react – he didn't want to slip, and spill the beans about A, and Spencer, and Toby, and _everything_. "I…" he started. "I fell down an elevator shaft?"

Jessica regained her posture, and almost dropped her watering can. "You did?"

Not quite the reaction he was looking for. He swallowed. "It wasn't as deep as it seemed – and it was either I landed on something, or someone tried to save me, so I've only got a broken arm, and possibly a sprained ankle."

Jessica frowned. "Then why wouldn't you be at the hospital?"

 _Because I don't trust anyone in Rosewood anymore…?_ "Look, Mom… can I just stay here? For now? I – I don't think I'll be able to go back. Yet."

Jessica seemed hesitant – and each second Jason spent with the cold prickling his skin, it was one step closer to a realisation – _he had nowhere to go_.

 _Clang!_

Alarmingly, he looked up, and questioned his mother with his eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't say a word, until finally:

"Give me a sec, Jason," she said, and walked into the house.

Jason was pretty sure at least two hundred seconds had passed – he had no idea how much more of this pain he'd be able to endure. Running had been one thing – actually _using_ his broken arm was another. And now his mom didn't even _care_. He blew at a piece of hair falling in his face – wasn't it just a lovely, lovely mess he was in?

"Jason, come in. Quickly," Jessica said, and ushered him in, grabbing (most painfully) onto his left – just the one he had broken. He winced, but kept his mouth _shut_ , for he believed he'd said way too much already. "Jason, _what happened_?"

"I told you."

"Yes, but _how_?"

Jason shrugged. "I was dropping some stuff at Dad's office. The elevator stopped working, and just… fell."

His mind had been blurry – but now things were slowly (oh, _slowly_ ) coming to place.

* * *

 _The first thing Jason felt was pain – a lot of it, too. From the very tips of his head, all the way down to his toes – the pain was_ almost almost _unbearable._ He _felt like he couldn't breathe._

 _And yet he was, which made matters a lot worse._

 _His left arm in particular was aching_ fit to burst _, and his neck had that occasional throb, perhaps able to go without being noticed. His legs were okay, he guessed, just a little weak. But that was all that – Jason_ did not _remember a thing that had happened._

 _He heard someone scream his name from the very top of this… wherever he was. He could not recognise that very voice, and the only thing he picked up was that is was possibly feminine._

 _Jason looked around him, but groaned at the movement. His hands felt around him, and for some reason, it didn't seem to be covered in what it usually would be, but then again, how would he know? It was like parts of his brain were okay, and he could remember the basics, like that his name was Jason, and he had a dead sister called Alison, and he was in a relationship with Aria, and he'd just been with—_

Emily.

 _Emily!_

 _Jason tried to look up, but failed, and carried on feeling the ground around him – it was, if what he felt was what he felt, pretty soft, not like normal grounds at all. He could feel something on his head, and he touched upon it, leaving traces of blood, and some wood on his fingers._

 _He blinked. Several times._

 _It took him a while for him to adjust to these… surroundings, but he saw collapsed wood all around him, completely shattered, and unfixable. Metal doors that once would stand were also somewhere by that wood, and still, he was thinking nonsense._

 _Then, he heard a voice. No, two._

 _"This is a bad idea… very, very bad…" said the first one. Jason could barely pick anything_ from _that one, either, apart from, maybe, it was more of a voice belonging to a male. With any strength he had left, he carried on listening._

 _"…You'll thank me later," another voice hastily replied. "Now_ do _it, and let's get out of here."_

 _The next feeling he had was something_ unfathomable _, because yes, it was pain, except much, much_ more _. He could feel his heart race, and he could feel his eyes water, and he could_ feel _it all, and yet he couldn't see anything but black._

 _"…Pick up the mats, the picture, and_ run _!"_

 _Jason saw black again, and that was all he saw._

* * *

When his mother had turned her eyes somewhere else, Jason let his fingers flutter down to the old shirt he'd randomly picked up, and let himself lift the hems up – he groaned. That stung – a _lot_. His fingers danced over it, and he gasped at the pain, because maybe it was just him, but was there a _hole_ in his current lower side area?

His eyes looked down, and he realised it was just something of a big, and very deep gash. It seemed to have stopped bleeding (thank God for that), but it was still quite a disturbing image he was seeing before his very eyes.

"Jason, lie down," Jessica said calmly. "Let me get a first aid kit… I… _don't move_!"

If he was currently seeing things properly, and if he wasn't so worked up, then he might have questioned her mother's oh so adamant requests. And the hesitance. And pretty much everything. He searched for his phone – it was somewhere hidden in the very back of his jeans, covered in a few specks of dust.

 **Now Momma can't even keep you safe.  
—A**

He shook it off, and his mom returned. He let her bandage his arms, and he let himself think that it was all okay.

* * *

"Do you want me to stay with you?" asked Emily softly, as they all reached Aria's house – she had long calmed down, but her heart was still thumping like never before from the _worry_. She still _did not_ understand what had happened, and why, or how, or even what _would_ happen now.

Aria shook her head. "No, I'll be alright. Thanks for the ride, Han."

"It's no problem," she said, smiling.

"And Em?" Aria turned to Emily. She hummed in response. "I'm glad you're okay."

Emily smiled at her, and Hanna squeezed her shoulder. Spencer seemed like there were at least a ton of things that were weighing down her mind.

Aria waved one more time, before pinching the top of her nose to steady herself (again), and as she walked down the old path she'd walked down countless of times before, she couldn't help but wonder if Jason really was…

She felt the tears spring up again – _why why why_? Why had this happened to _Jason_? It didn't mean she wanted it to have been Emily, but she would rather it have been to _none_ of them – Jason was Jason, and he was okay, _they_ were okay, and now they were not.

"Aria, honey?"

Hearing her mom's voice only made the tears come pouring down – this was all her fault, wasn't it? Letting Jason into _her_ mess – she shouldn't have let him interfere with A, and A (she guessed she'd now have to refer A as _Mona_ ), for A was more powerful than any of them put together.

"Aria?" her mom repeated.

Aria only shook her head, as tears streamed down more than any other time. She collapsed into Ella's arms, still sobbing, still feeling utterly _guilty_ – maybe she was overreacting; maybe she wasn't being reasonable enough.

"Jason," Aria managed to choke out. "Something… something's happened… to him."

Ella looked down at her with wide eyes. "What – what do you mean?"

Aria immediately jerked herself away from her mother, and turned around, having a right mind to slam her forehead repeatedly on the banister for _telling her_. But she guessed emotions were just hard to control.

"Aria, what happened?" Ella asked again.

Aria turned around so she was looking at Ella again. "Nothing. I'm just overreacting."

And she left for the stairs, only to bump right into Mike – she was more than surprised, and almost fell down the back, but Mike pulled her up again, although his look displayed confusion, too.

"Aria," Mike said. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not," Aria pressed on. "It's the onions."

"What onions?"

"Nothing you need to know," Aria declared, and pushed past him.

She slammed her bedroom door shut, and groaned as her mind replayed the past events… it had started off okay… yesterday, there was dinner, and only the day before, there was that reinternment, and _today_ , not only did she go photographing CeCe's boutique, and play ten questions with Wes, but _Jason almost, and POSSIBLY died._

She _shuddered_ at the thought, and more tears ran down.

She took out her phone, and clicked on his caller ID an infinite number of times, but it was either him blatantly ignoring her, or his phone was off, or he really was… dead.

 _But he couldn't be_.

Aria suddenly felt something in her back pocket, and fished it out in some sorts of a frenzy, wondering what on earth could have winded up there.

It was a note.

 **He knew too much.  
—A**

This scared her further than any of the world, and she scrunched it up, and threw it onto her bedside table, hoping it would disappear, like the rest of the day.

She closed her eyes, and for a second, it did.

* * *

Jason must have fallen asleep at one point, because he found himself waking up – the light made him narrow his eyes, and then he realised that the pain was relatively less painful. His arm still felt like it had been chopped into twenty-nine pieces, but his neck was no longer throbbing at sudden times, and he could actually _breathe_.

"How are you feeling?" Jessica said, and bustled in.

"Like a zombie," said Jason. "But better. Than yesterday."

She smiled at him, and smoothed his hair down. She passed him two tablets, and a drink of water. "Painkillers." Jason took them gratefully, and Jessica watched him curiously. "You fell down the elevator shaft, but you left with only a few broken bones?"

Jason swallowed the tablets. "Look, as I said… it could have killed me, but it was like someone was down there. Helping me, yet… not quite helping me."

"I don't underst—"

"Neither do I, Mom," Jason said. "So please don't ask. It'll only get _me_ confused." He paused, and looked around. "Hey, Mom… have you seen my phone? I should probably call… Aria, or Em, or Spence…"

"Uh," Jessica started. "I can't see it."

Using his good arm, Jason looked into his back pocket: nothing. "Can I use your phone, then?"

Jessica bit her lip. "I don't have a phone. Well, I do… but it's back in… Georgia."

"Pen? Paper?"

"Jason, this is _Aunt Carol's_ house, not a stationary shop," Jessica said, and even offered a tiny smile; Jason was in no mood for any of that, and frowned. "Aunt Carol's house is like a bird's nest. Nothing… but some worms. And you should rest, and stop worrying about any of the others."

Jason nodded. "You're… you're right. Um…"

"If you keep thrashing about, your arm's never going to get healed," Jessica said, and she sighed heavily. "Jason, I still don't understand why you didn't just stay at the hospital – I'm no nurse. They'd have taken better care of you."

Jason kept his mouth shut.

* * *

Aria awoke to a knock on her door.

"Aria?"

Aria buried herself beneath the pillows, because she didn't want to talk to her; she didn't want to talk to _anybody_. She just wanted to stay there, feeling helpless, and weigh out her regrets.

Ella walked in, and sat on her bed. "Aria, I've been thinking about what you said yesterday."

"I wasn't thinking properly yesterday," mumbled Aria. "Maybe I was drunk."

"No," she said. "you weren't."

"Mom, please, leave it alone," sighed Aria.

" _What_ happened to Jason?" Ella pressed.

" _It doesn't matter_!" exclaimed Aria, causing even Ella to jump. She slid out of bed, picked up her phone, and a jacket, and with one last, "I'm going to…" _Lie, Aria, lie_ , she told herself, _think, think,_ think. "Spencer's. Don't – please don't – ask any more questions. Thank you", she was off, out the door, maybe not to Spencer's, but _somewhere_.

"Aria, _school_!" She heard the faint shout of her mom, but shook it off.

She knew she was a mess, but she didn't care. She felt deep in her pocket, and pulled out the small note she had randomly found last night – _He knew too much_. What in bloody hell did that mean?

Her phone: vibrating.

Was it Jason?

Not to give up on hope, she answered it without seeing who it was, and _hoped hoped hoped_ it was him.

" _I spy an Aria_ ," said someone – someone most definitely _not_ Jason.

"Wes," she groused.

"Hey," he answered, but this time from behind her. "I was driving, and saw you. Wanted to say hi. The photoshoot seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?" He grinned his cheeky grin, but Aria found herself reacting to nothing.

"Yeah, I…"

"You look like you've been crying," started Wes. "Are you—"

"I'm fine," Aria said. "I'm just… I need to go. Sorry."

Yes, but _where_ was she going?

She ran past him, down countless streets, nowhere in the direction of either Hanna's, or Emily's, or Spencer's houses, but instead—

She stopped short when she'd reached Caleb's hut.

* * *

Jason didn't go back to sleep.

He tossed, and he turned, and he thought to everything – the painkillers were well underway, and he didn't feel anything wrong in him, but he felt very, very uncomfortable.

He looked into his bag, from under the sofa – there was barely anything in it, apart from a few broken pieces of glass, presumably from the picture that whoever had… helped him… had taken. There was no sign of a phone, but there was a few ripped file paper, and an envelope, but that was it.

Being wary of the glass, he pulled out the papers, and the envelope, and he creased his eyebrows – sure, the file paper was from those kids he'd counselled earlier on yesterday, but this envelope…

He looked inside of it. There were several more notes, all in different sizes.

 **Find me. I know that you know.  
—A**

He turned it over.

 **Come Alone or not At All**

He took out the other pieces – three out of four of them were plain, and he threw them aside roughly.

He looked at the last one, and wondered if this could finally be the end of things.

* * *

"…Hey?" Caleb offered as he saw Aria by the door. "Did you need a ride?"

"No," Aria said quickly. "I mean… maybe? I… I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot," said Caleb, smiling.

"Will you help me?" she asked.

Caleb eyed her with concern, and asked, "Is something wrong? What happened? Hanna?" Aria didn't answer for a while, and kept on looking downwards – Caleb sighed, and asked again. "Aria… _what's wrong_?"

Aria took a deep, deep breath. "You're a code-breaker, aren't you? Well… you _can_ break codes. Not just that… you can hack. I'm not just making this up, right? You can do all of that – like when you tried with Jenna—"

"Yes," nodded Caleb. "I can."

"Look… this may be a long shot, but… you know about A, too, and I know this is _terrible_ of me to ask you, but…" Aria bit her lip. "Jason disappeared. I don't know how, but yesterday, he was with Emily, and… and he got into an accident… and then he was at the hospital… and then… he disappeared?"

Caleb creased his brow. "What do you mean, _disappeared_?"

"From the hospital bed," said Aria. "He went."

Pause.

"Sorry, I don't understand," he said.

"The Pennsylvania Hospital," Aria proclaimed. "Can you somehow… I don't even know… hack into their computer system, or something, to see if Jason was taken, or he just… picked himself up, might I add, _with a broken neck_."

"Aria, I doubt hospitals film operations," he answered, scratching his head. "But then again… I guess they would have surveillance footage…" He looked at her, and she looked back, with desperate eyes.

She knew it was wrong. She shouldn't have done this – at least, not without Hanna's permission.

"Caleb, this was crazy of me to…" Aria shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just got a little worked up with all this… you really don't need to do anything." She paused. "However, I still think I need that ride to school."

Caleb smiled, and reassuringly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, car's this way."

Aria got in the car, and smiled back with gratitude – it didn't stop her being so _freaking_ worried, but it made her feel comfortable, in a sense. As Caleb started the car, Aria realised that they weren't going in the direction normal school pupils going to a high school would.

She looked up at Caleb. "We're not going to school, are we?"

Caleb gave her another smile, maybe a smirk. "Nope," he said. "We're going to break into a hospital."

* * *

 **Who's for some badass Calaria/Arileb/Ariab? :) Man… the amount of times I wrote, and re-wrote this… It was going to be longer, but I was actually getting fed up with this chapter, lol :P**

 **So, a lot of things may not make any sense to you, but here is what happened with Jason:**

 **He thought Wilden was after him, first and foremost (but Toby, too, I guess), so he ran from the hospital. Aria saw Toby at the hospital, even though she wasn't sure – it _was_ Toby though, and because they had planned it all, they planted safety mats at the bottom, left notes, stabbed him, but picked up and ran as soon as he regained consciousness.**

 **Jason remembered the voices, although he couldn't remember _who_ these voices belonged to – those voices belonged to Toby and Mona, evidently. So they made sure Jason didn't have a broken neck, but made sure in the hospital he _did_. They predicted Jason's moves, I guess. **

**Okay, so this is where the sort of reference to… I don't remember which episode, but one in 6A… kicks in. Jason goes to Aunt Carol's, his mum is there (and also CeCe, but that comes in very later), and she lets him in. Jason finds the note.**

 **And the whole stabbing him thing comes in next chapter, but I'm sure you all know what's going to happen :) Haha, Spence, you should have known the consequences XD And what will Hanna think of this all? Where does Wes come in? What will happen when they find out it's Toby?**

 **Once again, _HUGE HUGE HUGE_ thanks, and I hope to update verryyy soooooooonnnnnnnn.**


	31. Twelfth Night

**Man, we're close to S4. There's this chapter, and then either two or three more :P**

 **Quick note: I was always more of a history girl. If you are a geologist, and are deeply offended by this, then I'm sorry… I have _definitely_ used one of those beepy things (it's not a compass, or a phone, I swear) before, and I _know_ that, but I literally cannot remember what it is. It's either you point it at something, or you type in some numbers, and you need to find your way around somewhere…**

* * *

 **twelfth night**

* * *

 _is this just a wicked game?  
will it wash with the next rain?  
i can't give in; i can't give up  
 **— claire de lune**_

* * *

If she had any strength left, Aria would have smiled – or at least, given Caleb something of a half-smile, because she was _grateful_ , man, she had never been _more_ grateful, and yet it seemed as if worrying had already worn her out.

So instead, she managed to say, "Th-thank you… I… I know you probably don't—"

"Look, I don't know this guy. Not at all _well_ , at least, but I know you care about him, and I know Hanna, and the others do, too," said Caleb, his gaze fixated ahead of him. "But I trust him, and I wouldn't want him…" He stopped himself. "And looking for this tape? I guess it's one step closer to finding out who A is?"

Aria nodded slowly. "Y-yes, I guess…"

The note sprung back into mind. These meanings were all over the place, and she'd never been much of a theorist, but there was something – _something_ – familiar about those very four words. Something that they'd come across before – and that was something she was sure of.

And _what_ did he know too much of? A?

"Have you got a plan?" asked Caleb, out of the blue.

This threw her a little off course, and she looked around sceptically. "Um… it was all kind of sudden, me coming to you, and I didn't do… _a lot_ of thinking…?"

Caleb almost stopped the car. "So… is distraction our only hope?"

Aria bit her lip. "Um, apparently so…"

 _I'm screwed; we're screwed_ , was the first thing that comes to mind. She looked over at Caleb, who also looked up, and they both shared this look that displayed utter _what are we going to do?_ , and yet _we're not going to give up, though_.

"I know this hospital fairly well," said Aria.

"You can get close to the nurses?"

"Well, not _that_ well," Aria said, and nibbled her fingernails. She knew her way around the Pennsylvania Hospital, and she had a good estimation of the whereabouts of the surveillance cameras, _but_ the real question was how they were going to actually find the room, _and_ the footage, all in the process of not getting caught. They should consider sunbathing with the abominable snowman.

They parked the car, and for some reason, they decided to go with the whole not-having-a-plan plan.

"Are you any good at lying?" Aria asked as they walked through the automatic doors – the hospital was, as ever, pretty busy, with nurses busting around here, and there. She looked back at Caleb, searching for an answer, and he just stayed as he was, shaking his head a little. "Yes? No?"

"There's a reason why no one tells me anything, Aria," Caleb said.

"I take that as a no," Aria sighed. "Okay. Here goes."

Caleb gave her a weak thumbs up as she walked slowly to the receptionist – before spotting none other than the great grand _Mona Vanderwaal_ standing guard at one of the doors – completely harmlessly. And for some reason, she, too, was skipping school.

"Mona, what the hell are you doing here?"

Mona looked up, and a sly grin appeared on her face. "Well, hello, Aria. I didn't expect you to be here."

" _Yes_ , you did," Aria almost snarled – she saw Caleb get himself up, and walk to the scene. Well, by the looks of it, they'd be up to the fifteenth take… Aria only stared harder into Mona – Mona responded, smiling wider, too. "I – we – we all know that you're still in on this. And I know _you_ have something to do with Jason – _and_ Toby."

"Toby had his own mess," Mona said. " _Jason_ , however…"

"Where is he?" Aria exclaimed. "What have you— Why are you— _Where_?"

"Now, _that_ ," Mona said, as she walked off. "would be telling."

And then she was off – her shadow lingering as she shuffled past them, until, finally, she was no more. Aria and Caleb were only left to exchange the most incredulous of looks.

* * *

The directions on the old faded note were literally non-existent, and what would have been clear, standing numbers, were a blotchy mess. Jason guessed the weather couldn't be classified as _rainy_ , but it was definitely undergoing a slight dose of drizzle, and however light it was, it irritated him. He didn't have anything against rain, or the grand weather machine, or whatever – it was moreover the fact that he was just impatient, and that impatience was only growing at an alarming rate as each tree became a blur; as each headlight took a turn into incandescent. There were shivers – a lot of them. There were coughs – a lot of them. There were winces – a lot of them. Each second passed, and each footstep became heavier. He stared back down at the directions, and could only _just_ make out the remaining digits – slightly fuzzy _50 37' N/65 15' W_ s. He'd be infinitely glad he'd studied geography.

The clouds were finally clearing as he reached the very forest that _A_ was leading him to – he guessed he should probably refer them as Toby-and-Mona, because it was them, wasn't it? They were the ones who almost killed him, and yet saved him all the same.

Jason winced again, as his arm met a sudden branch – how long did it take for a broken bone to heal?

And then it hit him – why was he so freaking _stupid_? Regarding the past, and _Alison's body_ , how could he have not, not even for a mere second, thought that maybe – and probably – A… Toby, and Mona… were luring him into some dodgy _trap_? He couldn't say it hadn't happened before. He'd handed fifty thousand dollars to them, anyway.

But then there was the curiosity, the almost self-loathing, cat-killing, and yet magnificent _curiosity_. Jason had always been one to ask too many questions. Alison was the hidden one. Jason was the little _too_ open one.

He was already known by the Rosewood PD, as the 'wasp'. It was pretty offensive, actually, seeing as he was allergic to them.

His geographical knowledge was running dry – he didn't have one of those weird compass-like beepy things, where you'd point it at a certain area, and then these random digits would pop up… or maybe you'd have to type them in first…? Sure, Jason wasn't a _dumbass_ ¸ but most of high school he spent stoned, filming underage girls, and so he obviously wasn't in the _right state of mind_.

He heard a _bustle bustle_ , and the first thing he thought was, _I'm going to die_.

For all he knew, A – he should stop… _Mona_ and _Toby_ – had guns. They were pretty much capable of anything, right? Well… the abuse of power was when greatness… something like that.

There were a few more noises, and then he thought, _hey, maybe I'll finally do something useful… as far as one with a broken arm, and an untreated sprained ankle could get. With a hole in one's body – literally… a_ hole _._

(And a memory of a goldfish.)

He picked up the pace a little, and made it to the RV – this had to be it… hadn't it?

He threw a rock at the window. Then—

 _Jason_ , _what the hell is up to you? Did you bang your head too hard in the elevator, too?_

"I'm here," Jason exclaimed. "I effing _found_ you. I came. I'm _alone_. Now, let's do us a favour, okay? All of us. You can _stop_ this game, and _you_ , yes, I'm talking to you, _Toby Cavanaugh_ , can go die in a hole, and _you_ , Mona… Vander… you can go back to Radley, where you belong. And you can just—"

The door to the RV opened… Man, what if it was home to a gypsy? A fortune teller? His dad?

"She's not here yet," said someone, and he heard a faint _creak_ of a door. "But I need to tell you—"

 _Smack_.

Jason's brain was definitely malfunctioning, and he should really prioritise some things, including his instincts, and he should probably let someone chain him to some rocks, because why he was trusting his actions _he did not know_.

All he knew, was that he'd punched Toby Cava— _A_.

That was probably the first time he'd ever acted… brotherly? He wasn't really around as overprotective when Alison was alive, and aside from covering a good four hundred dollars… he and Spencer hadn't gone around being each other's heroes. And this wasn't going to make matters any better, he _knew_ that, but it felt good that he'd actually been able to do something.

Man, now _both_ arms were aching.

"I deserved that," was all Toby had to say.

"You did," Jason said.

Toby did not move an inch – his gaze was fixated on nothing, and he seemed to be fighting a war against himself. And both sides were losing – majorly. He turned to completely face Jason, and he must have _definitely_ hit a wrong end in that accident, because there were _tears_ pooling in Toby's blue, blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," Toby finally spoke. "But you need to understand, Jason, that I would never – _never_ – do _anything_ to intentionally hurt Spencer. Okay… I _love_ her. I love her _so much_ , and the whole reason I'm doing this is… I'm trying to protect her, and the others."

Jason scoffed. "Do I believe you? No. Do I want to? _No_." He bit his lip, and pushed past Toby, into the RV… or A lair – _whichever_ , _whatever_. "Where's your partner-in-crime?"

"She's in the hospital, erasing the tapes proving that you escaped," Toby said admittedly – he genuinely _did_ look apologetic, but Jason was too… angry to forgive. Impatient, too. "Jason, believe me, I'm doing this _for_ your sister. I'm doing this _for_ her, because I'm in love with her. Yeah. I _love_ her."

" _She_ loved _you_ so much, you know that?" Jason said, ignoring any defences. "And then you can go _mess up_ her heart. Do you know _how much_ she's been hurting since you? She hasn't eaten anything; she hasn't _done_ anything. This… this is what you did to her."

"So I could _protect_ her," insisted Toby.

"No, so you could—" Jason paused. "What gives from all of this, anyway?"

"You came."

Jason turned to see Mona leaning against the door frame (how could he not have noticed that?), smiling in her own special way. She was holding a brown bag in one hand, and a memory stick in the other – she looked towards Toby, something of triumph lingering on her face.

"It's kind of a funny story, actually," said Mona. "I mean, I've _just_ been to the hospital, and guess who I see?" Jason didn't answer, but only crossed his arms. "You got it in one – your lovely girlfriend, and even lovelier Caleb, working together. Sweet, isn't it?"

Jason grit his teeth. "What do you want from me?"

"I think you know very well," Mona sneered. " _what_ I want."

Jason immediately shook his head. "No. Never."

Mona raised her eyebrows. "Aw, don't you want to know what you'll be missing out on? And plus—" Pause. "Don't you _remember_?"

"Remember _what_?"

* * *

 _"Isn't she just a_ princess _?"_

 _Jason didn't bother to turn around, devoting all attention to the cigarette he was smoking – in all honesty, he didn't actually_ enjoy _smoking… He wasn't quite sure why he'd started this habit in the first place, but as they always said – old habits die hard, right?_

 _"Everything anyone's ever wanted."_

 _Jason threw the cigarette on the floor, took one last puff into the air as he stared out as the herd of fancy-dressed people who he had no freaking care for. His head was spinning, and spinning around, and the smudges of blue, and red, and purple did no help but increase the throbbing – why he was even here, at the Kahn's stupid Halloween party was a whole different story altogether. Whatever reason it had been, he didn't remember. Or maybe he didn't want to. Or maybe both._

 _"Who are we talking about?" Jason said, still keeping his gaze fixated out in front of him – the air was a little chilly, and prickled through his perfectly normal non-fancy brown top. His eyes skimmed the vast grounds as he felt the grass around him – he spotted Ian, and Melissa, and almost puked. Not that he held a grudge – not that he even_ liked _Melissa (that kiss had been the definition of a nightmare, to be honest) – not that he even_ cared _. Maybe it was because they really couldn't keep their hands off each other – probably._

 _"You know who we're talking about," the mystery girl (definitely a feminine voice) repeated._

 _Jason couldn't help but hate_ not knowing _what… they… were talking about._

 _"I mean, if I'm being honest, I think the red coat's a little bit of an… advantage. It's not that pink highlights don't add up to anything, but I think it's a little too… Aria?" she carried on, rambling, and although Jason steadied his eyes on the hammock hanging on the trees,_ he _was hanging on her every word._

 _"Do I even know you?" interrupted Jason. He craned his head just a_ little _bit, and caught sight of dark hair, and dark clothes, and… a tail? "Aria? I swear you were dressed as a witch, or a banshee, or whatever…"_

 _"I'm not Aria," she said, and rolled her eyes. "And plus, banshees don't really wear black."_

 _"Yeah, do I care?" he answered. "And who the hell are you?" He turned his head fully, and took in her costume. "Why are you dressed as a cat?" Jason had always been superstitious – black cats, and witches, what were more different? They were unlucky, weren't they? Jason grabbed onto his necklace – the one with the little wooden pendant in the shape of a Cherokee symbol… you know, the one with the curved black cross, with the four spirals around it?_

 _"Consider yourself with seven years of bad luck," she said, with hints of sarcasm in her voice._

 _"Again,_ who are you _?" Jason pressed on. That stupid mask covered her face._

 _"No one you know," she remarked, and grinned. She took a seat next to him, and this, being a little out of his comfort zone, caused him to instinctively shuffle slightly away from him; she seemed perfectly unscathed by this, and carried on smiling this creepy Cheshire cat smile._

 _"Why don't you go back and join the party?"_

 _"Because I want to talk to you, Jason DiLaurentis."_

 _Jason gulped – so she knew his name now? "Right. Well… I need to go find, um… Ian… and Garrett… and then I should probably take my sister home."_

 _Just as he had gotten up, this girl had pulled him back down. "That's right! Alison. Alison, Alison, Alison. Alison this, Alison that – the whole_ world _worships that little_ bitch _."_

 _"_ Excuse _me?"_

 _"Oh, like you care," she bit at him. "You hate her, like the rest of them. Possibly even more. They all have something against her – and I know you have the worst of that. You hate her, and sometimes you don't even know it."_

 _Jason got up again. "I should go."_

 _"Spencer, especially," she called out, and this made him stop. "You and Spencer have more in common than I could possibly imagine. Melissa's pretty much harmless. Spencer bites back. Hard. You wait, you wait for the right moment. You two would make pretty valuable players."_

 _Jason picked up the pace, and ran down the hill._

* * *

"You and Spencer are _so_ alike," Mona commented. Jason could feel Toby stiffen from around them, but ignored it, because he didn't want to believe that Toby could be telling the truth. "I guess you know now, for certain. But blood and all aside… you have the same agenda."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you'd still make pretty valuable players," Mona finished.

Jason decided to weigh out his thoughts, but they weren't little lightweight pennies – they made up for more than he'd ever know. They were so… packed, and it _confused_ him, and _scared_ him, and yet he was spiralling into a vortex of stained-glass, and clear, clear crystal balls.

Mona looked at him pointedly, to which he sighed. "So, Jason, what do—"

"You… you don't have to ask again, Mona," Jason said, and although evading any explanation, he gave Mona a look – _the_ look – which he only hoped showed her all the secrets of the universe, and yet nothing at all.

* * *

Aria felt someone grab her arm – she turned to Caleb to question, but he looked equally baffled, as someone grabbed _his_ arm as well. Not sure how she was supposed to react, she kept her mouth closed, and decided to let (for some reason) these… people… to haul her down. Somewhere.

"Stealing from a hospital?" the person holding Aria said, in a tight, shrilly voice, raising her eyebrows at them – calling her "style" fashionable would be a crime, and she looked like she'd jumped out one of those 70's sewing catalogues. "Classy. But certainly unhelpful in situations like these – and aren't you kids supposed to be at school, or something?"

"What?" Aria exclaimed. "We didn't steal anything."

"I have to admit," said someone else, this time a man, who, although seemed a little more well put together than the woman wardrobe-wise, seemed more intimidating than either of them could possibly imagine. "you are a good liar."

"It's the truth," remarked Caleb. "We didn't steal anything. We've been here barely ten minutes."

"Wait here," the woman declared. "Both of you."

As soon as she, and that other guy had left both Aria and Caleb, they made for the exit, basically sprinting towards Caleb's car.

"Mona is just… _truly_ spy material, isn't she?" Aria said, in a little bit of a breathless voice as she slumped down into the car seat. "I mean, she gets off without a trace, and we end up filling up the shoes. Almost, anyway."

Caleb shrugged. "Well, bully for her."

"She's a Prada-wearing devil," groaned Aria, and she buried her face in her hands – she'd expected to get _some_ answers today, but result? _None_. "Like she's… she's… She's just _her_. Crazy, scheming… incredibly good at lying."

"She's just A," Caleb said. "Shoot… duck, duck, duck."

Caleb drove out quickly, and Aria did her best not to look into the rear mirror, or any one, for that matter. The only thing she could properly (attempt to) do now, was to _not_ think about Jason, but instead of solutions.

"So…" Aria said, after a little while. "I think we've only just missed the first period."

"Well," Caleb said. "just our luck."

* * *

Aria wriggled in her seat as her mom paced through and out each space between the desks, talking nonsense about a Maxim, and some huge house in the hills. Words passed her head. She ignored everything – and it was getting easier by the second.

 _ANSWER_ , _Jason!_

She had indefinitely endangered her phone screen's life.

 _Or… just CALL ME BACK_.

" _Aria_!"

Aria looked up in a split second – so quickly she most likely just got whiplashed. "Mom, I mean… Mrs Montgomery."

Ella raised her eyebrows. "Phone."

Aria handed it over in surrender, and sunk down into her seat, and let the paranoia, and oh, the _guilt_ , clench her every being – because for all she knew, Jason's bones could be disintegrating _right this second_ , under the foundation of the A lair, or the freaking hospital, or _his damn house_ , and she was sitting through an hour of _English_.

The bell rang (finally).

"Aria," Ella called out. "Can I speak to you?"

She let out a groan, but nodded, and as all the other students poured out of the room, Aria took three strides towards her mother's desk. "Yes, Mother?"

"Aria, are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked sincerely, holding up Aria's phone in her face (switched _on_ , might she add). "Last night you're sobbing all over the place; _this_ morning you scare the life out of me, _and lie_."

"I'm sorry, Mum," Aria said, taking the phone out of Ella's grasp. She turned on her heel, and deeply exhaled – _stop it, Aria. Stop_ worrying _,_ she mentally scolded herself. "I need to get to the next class. _Quickly_."

Ella took a step in front of her, and frowned as she looked down at her. "Aria, we agreed that secrets only did us no good a long time ago."

"Mom, I need to _go_ —"

"Look me in the face, and tell me that there is absolutely nothing going on," Ella said. Aria refused to meet her mother's gaze, and clasped her phone with all of her might. "Aria, _what happened to Jason_?"

" _What_?" Aria exclaimed. "How do you—"

"It doesn't help that you've been rambling on about him yesterday, _and_ today. And how many times have you called him?" Ella sighed. "Did you break up, or something? Because if you have, then—"

"No," Aria shook her head immediately. "No, we didn't. I just…"

"Aria," urged Ella. " _you can tell me_."

Aria took a deep breath, and walked to the door. "Jasonfelldownanelevatorshaftandnowwedon'thavea _clue_ whereheis."

Ella stared at her disbelievingly.

Aria sighed, and sighed again. "Jason… he got hurt. He fell down an elevator shaft, and he was at the hospital, and then he disappeared, and – and _please_ don't tell anybody this." _Because Mona's in it, and she will most definitely_ do something _about it. And it won't be pretty._

Before her mother could get a word in edgeways, Aria had sauntered off, down the corridors, past her friends, and only took a pit stop when she almost bumped into a tall brunette girl holding a bucket-load of books.

"Spencer—"

She disappeared, dropping several textbooks, and Aria could literally _feel_ Spencer's heart race, and picking the books up in a frenzy, ran down the same road Spencer had run down, into the girls' bathroom.

"Spencer?" she called out softly. "Spence, it's me. You dropped some books."

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"I… I don't under—"

"Go away."

"Spencer…"

"I said, _get out_. I'm sorry, but you need to go."

Aria shook her head vehemently, and moved the stall where she could just about make out Spencer's shadow from beneath. She knocked a few times on the cubicle door, before leaning her head against it. "Spencer, you are not the only who could use a little Team Sparia."

Aria could hear a sob. A light one – a very light one – but a sob all the same.

"Spencer, please," Aria said, in a voice almost pleading. She decided to let herself live through Spencer for a moment – if she and Jason had broken up in such a state it would be leaving her like _this_ … well, _would_ he be in a state like this, with near to no chance of redemption. Would she lock herself in some gilded cage? Would she? "We need you. And I know you need us, too."

Spencer didn't answer (not that she was expecting more).

Just as Aria was about to leave Spencer to her thoughts alone, she heard the faintest, "it's all my fault", but like everything else, she ignored it, and walked away.

No matter how hard it was.

* * *

The black hoodie was padded for all he knew, and yet, with the thread unravelling in front of his very eyes, literally like a cat with yarn, and with cheeks that he _knew_ were blazed, Jason had never felt so cold.

In his twenty-two years, he had believed in freewill. He didn't believe in fate; just _being_ there, for your own good. People did things because they could, not because they _had_ to. But now? He wasn't so sure about that anymore.

(But then again, he wasn't so sure about _anything_ anymore.)

"Do you know what letting us down means?"

Jason looked up at the sound of Mona's (if he was allowed to say… rather creepy) voice, and saw her combing down a brunette doll. She was wearing a blue _Rosewood Decathlon Team_ top, and yet was still here… He swore Spencer mentioned something about them being in New York. Whichever way, he was glad he wasn't left alone in this mini haunted house, because it creeped the living guts out of him.

Jason stole a glance at where Toby would usually be. His absence was ghostly.

"…But I know you won't," Mona clarified, and placed the doll back on the table – man, this… _RV_ gave him (quotes by none other than Hanna Marin) the heebie jeebies. "And yet, like Toby, _you_ need to earn our trust."

Jason swallowed. "But I have. You gave me the hoodie."

Mona gave him this… this _smile_. She walked to his place by the table by one of the cabinets, not so far from the… dollhouse. She pulled up a chair next to him, and was _so close_ …

Mona laughed cynically, and Jason could feel her breath prickle on his neck. "It is one thing to mortify curiosity, Jason. Another to conquer it."

He recognised that quote. But shook it off.

"What does 'curiosity' have to do with trust?" Jason asked bluntly.

"Nothing," shrugged Mona, and (finally) she moved away from him. "Nothing at all."

(Jason didn't have to ask again to know that when she said 'nothing', she very well meant 'everything'.)

Nightfall was already falling, and Jason could hear the first owl start to cry.

* * *

Aria had to admit, even owls creeped her out nowadays.

School had been a blast! Her mother decided to give up on questioning, and Spencer was still, more or less, ignoring her. Hanna, and Emily were off… somewhere, and so Aria was alone. No one could understand.

She was as close to finding out where Jason was, as she was close enough to be stopping A.

Aria had to admit, she'd always believed in fate. Like in seventh grade, when her class read that old Shakespeare play (something about the number twelve?) – all things happened for a reason, didn't they? Or else Olivia would have stayed in black, and perhaps Sebastian and Viola wouldn't have found true love, and on a happier note, Malvolio wouldn't have been left to rot.

Maybe if Aria hadn't done something… _amazing_ for Alison to notice, then she wouldn't have been plucked up from obscurity to become one of the new members of _Girls Aloud_ , and she'd probably be stuck with being the spunk-of-all-spunks, shaving Barbie dolls, and walking around with weird sirens going around her head. But then… she wouldn't have met Spencer, and Emily, and Hanna, and they were people she would _kill_ for. And she wouldn't have been with Jason, and that scared her.

But A never would have happened.

How different would her story be?

Maybe later on in life, she'd look back, and blame this on fate – she picked herself up, and walked down Spencer's (and Jason's, and Ali's, and Melissa's) road. She didn't have any house-warming cupcakes, but she did have a few twisted words, and an A note, and that would be enough, hopefully.

She knocked on the door.

And again.

And again.

And again—

The door seemed to already have been opened, and though a little confused, Aria entered nevertheless. Something… something felt really… peculiar.

And then—

" _Melissa_! _Melissa_ , _please help_!" A scream; a shout. "Mom! _Mom_! I… _HELP ME, PLEASE_!"

Why was she hesitating? Aria sprinted up the stairs, and ran to where the sound source was – the bathroom. The freaking bathroom… What was happening? Aria banged several times on the white door, and that only caused more screams, each desperate, and dry, and so… lifeless.

Aria bust in.

"Oh my _god_ , I—" A

Spencer was… Spencer could be _melting_ – she was in the sauna, her face a ghostly white, yet a burning red, and her had all falling limp around her perspired body. Aria, completely in shock, proceeded to try and help her out, only _just_ succeeding – there was some strange pipe-like object blocking the glass door.

"Spence, oh my…" Aria let Spencer fall into her arms, her frailness really touching upon her. Her arms wound around her so tightly, and she sobbed, and she sobbed, and she sobbed. "I… I can't believe this… I…"

What would have happened if she had arrived even just a _few_ seconds later? What if she had decided not to arrive at all?

"I know…" gasped Spencer.

"Shh, it's okay," Aria mused.

"L-look," Spencer said croakily, and nodded feebly to the mirror.

 **STEAMY WITH WREN.  
STEAMY WITH ME.  
—A**

"It was revenge," sobbed Spencer. "I kissed Wren, and A wanted to get me back."

"Why?" Aria asked.

"Call the others," Spencer said.

"I… okay," Aria nodded.

"I know who's working with Mona," she said, locking eyes with Aria. "And I'm ready to tell you guys."

* * *

Aria passed Spencer another glass of water as they waited for Hanna and Emily to arrive. Aria let her hand linger on her shoulder as she gave her something of a reassuring look.

All of a sudden, Emily rushed in (and only Emily) the bedroom, and immediately found her place beside Spencer.

"Are you alright? I came as quick as I could, and I had no idea what Aria was talking about, but oh my god, I can't believe A…" she said in one breath. "Spence, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Spencer said quietly. "Th-thank God Aria got here when she did."

Aria gave her a weak smile, and turned to Emily. "Is Hanna not here? Where is she?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know. She won't answer any of my calls." She and Aria exchanged a worried look.

"So who is it?" asked Aria. "Who's helping Mona?"

"We should wait for Hanna," was Spencer's only reply.

"No, this is too important to wait," Emily proclaimed, and stood up beside Aria.

Spencer frowned, and bit her lip. "O-okay, but you guys need to know that I've been warned not to tell you." There was something in her voice that betrayed that statement, but Aria had no idea what to say.

Just then, Hanna also burst through the door, and into the room. "I'm so sorry… I got a little caught up with my mom, and other complications, but… Christ, Spencer, _what happened_? I mean… are you okay?"

Spencer nodded in response.

"And about this… person who's working with Mona," Hanna started. "I don't understand."

Aria interrupted with, "Wait a minute… you were warned not to… You knew who it was before tonight?"

Spencer nodded again. "Y-yeah… I've known for a few weeks."

"Why didn't you tell us any sooner?" asked Emily.

"I wanted to be sure," Spencer stammered, and her eyes filled up with tears. She fidgeted with her hands, and shook a little, before saying, "I didn't want to believe that it could be true… but after tonight happened, I can't keep this to myself anymore."

Pause.

"Toby is A."

Pause. Pause.

"What Ali wrote in Emily's notebook was true?" Emily said, the first to break the ice cold silence. "That Toby… that Toby's secretly hated us evert since Alison threw that firecracker in his garage? And the whole time that you were together, he was just pretending… No!" Emily shook her head at herself. "Okay, we all know how much Toby loves you. This can't be true. There has to be more to the story."

"If he loved me, he would not have let me sit outside of his loft _bawling my eyes out_ for hours… He wouldn't have taken everything out of A's lair when he knew that I had the key. He wouldn't be trying to hurt me – us!"

"I am so sorry, Spence," murmured Hanna.

"Mona must have something over him," Emily said, almost demandingly.

"Trust me, I have tried to come up with every possible explanation as to why he could be doing this, and it all leads back to the same conclusion," Spencer said, almost _angrily_.

"The Toby, I know, what would never do anything to hurt any of us," Emily shook her head. And that, Spencer started to laugh, cynical in all she was. Startled, Emily queried, "What's so funny?

"You," laughed Spencer. "You… trying to make sense of this. You need to stop thinking about Toby as the person that you thought you knew and start looking at him for who he really is."

"And how do I do that?" pressed on Emily.

"You look at the facts, Emily!"

(Aria really wasn't sure how she was supposed to join in a mini battle like this. She had nothing against Toby before, yet didn't have anything _for_ him, either. It seemed like Hanna couldn't, either, and they both watched in numbness.)

"Which are?" started Emily.

"Mona is with the decathlon team in New York City," said Spencer. "She couldn't have locked me in the steam room, and that only leaves Toby." She paused. "The quicker you wrap your mind around this, the better. Toby, it's Emily."

Aria felt like this was the right moment, and placed down the old (yet new) scrumpled up note from her pocket in front of all of them.

"Where does this cut in?" asked Aria.

Spencer took a look at this note, before bursting into a set of more unsteady tears, streaming down her face, with no sign of stopping.

"Shoot," Aria said, frowning. "I didn't mean—"

"A warned me," Spencer intercepted Aria's words, and there was something in her face that resembled… guilt. Aria watched, and she knew that the others were doing the same (it was all they had left, after all). "And I… I'm so _stupid_."

"I don't understand," Hanna said.

" _I told Jason_ ," Spencer stopped. "And for all I know, he could be dead. _Because of me_."

* * *

 **This took me forever and a day to write, lol. Some things came to me, and then suddenly disappeared. Sorry about the punching scene – I had that in my mind for a long time. And if you think I'm bashing Toby, then I assure you, I'm not – Toby is awesome, and I love him. Especially a lot better than Caleb :/**

 **School for me restarts next Monday, so from then on my weeks will be packed with… you guessed it. Updates will be slow, but I will try and get one up at least once a week :)**

 **Okay, now this is totally random, but I'm convinced that Aria is working with Mary Drake/is Uber Bad, or whatever. That she was Big A right from the beginning, and that Charlotte was manipulated, and that Sara was actually helping the girls (I'll stop there). I've literally been stalking these Tumblr accounts with some awesome theories, and I. Am. Convinced. Sorry, this was random. I was going to explode. Omfg I want her to be A so badly. Eugh I'm done okay bye.**


	32. Stereotypically

**Hello! Okay. Last chapter I said two more. Well, now it's two more :D Oh, and _Guest_ : Haha, I guess there is. My, that's happened before… I will get round to re-writing it though, lol. (Hopefully.)**

* * *

 **stereotypically**

 _and all the roads we have to walk are winding  
and all the lights that lead us there are blinding  
there are many things that i would like to say to you  
(but i don't know how) **  
— oasis**_

* * *

The silence was unnerving. It seemed like the non-existent decibels were prying on them, prodding them, going, _come on, speak. I_ dare _you_. The girls had had plenty of experience, and the familiarity of this _truth or dare_ game was something they'd lived upon without meaning to—once upon a time, games like that were considered a good pastime. But then again, _no_ , because Alison had the knack of turning it into something much, much more, didn't she?

Aria made the first move.

"Don't say that," she mumbled. "It's not your fault." Her voice trembled.

Spencer looked up, and shook her head miserably. "I was panicking… I went back to apologise about barging in on the memorial. And then I… I remembered the room, and Toby, and I just… It seemed like the right thing to do. Then."

Hanna gave them a look of sudden realisation. "Do you think A ran him over?"

All three widened their eyes at her.

"What?" Hanna said. " _He knew too much_. That happened to me, and then A ran a car over me. You don't think it's possible?" The girls shook their heads, causing Hanna to frown. "Come on, that was Mona. And now there's Toby involved, so—"

"Hanna, stop it," snapped Emily.

"Right. Sorry," Hanna said, with not much "sorry" written on her face at all. "Look, Spence. Let's just settle on the fact that your boyfriend—sorry, _ex_ -boyfriend, is a psycho crazy stalker slash potential murderer who almost tried to roast you, _and_ might have killed your brother."

"You're not helping, Hanna," Emily said.

"I'm just stating the obvious," shrugged Hanna.

"She's right," nodded Spencer, and gave Hanna a weak smile. "That's what Toby is. He's A. He's the one who tried to _melt_ me in my own home, and he's the one who had Alison's body, and he's the one who betrayed me… and he's the one who might have done something to Jason."

"Can we not talk about that?" Aria said quickly.

Spencer started to sob again. She reminded Aria of a train wreck. How things going so smoothly, so quickly, could stop. Just like that—even if it still felt like you were going at breakneck speed. But Spencer wasn't like that—Spencer was Spencer, not a freaking accident, and maybe Spencer would be speeding along at breakneck speed, but only in a good way.

Right?

Spencer turned to Aria. "I'm sorry, Aria. I…"

"No," Aria declared. "You can't take the blame."

There was no need for any of them to take the blame (except Mona, possibly, and now Toby), for Jason was alright—he was going to be alright. Nothing had happened to him; nothing _would_ happen to him. Him disappearing _just like that_ , only yesterday, as it seemed… that was… that was…

That was nothing.

"He's not dead," Aria said, and maybe her look was betraying her, because the way Hanna was looking at her, with these creased eyebrows, and azure eyes so widened, and the way Emily was holding onto her hand, suddenly, tightly… and _the way_ Spencer was averting everyone's gaze, her own silence still piercing through the silence… _proved_ it. Maybe her look was betraying her, and perhaps she herself had no idea what pit she was throwing herself into, but whatever lie she was trying to get herself to believe, just like what Ali said, it would—and dear _God_ , it had to—become the truth. "He isn't."

"The N.A.T Club," Emily brought up suddenly, and if this was tact she was trying to bring into the conversation, then it wasn't working, and left Aria to almost _bore_ her eyes into what Emily supposedly had to say. "Garrett… Ian… It's all…"

"Connected?" intervened Aria.

Emily nodded numbly, to which Aria insistently shook her head, and said, "Yes, but only if he's… if he really is dead." Aria knew what Emily would, in turn, say, bringing up even more wacky theories Aria thought they'd never have to revisit, more they'd uncover, and would comment on how painfully obvious it was. She didn't _say_ anything, but Aria knew it all with her rather twitchy expression. She wasn't blind—quite possible going a little crazy, but she knew the difference between a dream, and reality.

Did she? Was this a dream she was living in? _Was it real_?

"What are we meant to do now?" Hanna quipped up, her expression lost of all traces of humour, replaced by utter sincerity that made her seem almost unrecognisable. "Toby—sorry, Spence—is A, and we _still_ have no idea about where Jason is. So what is it we do?—I mean, we can't just… _leave_ it, can we?"

Spencer looked down, and shrugged. "I'm more scared of what will happen if we _do_ do something—I don't want to be the one to make the wrong move. I'm not going to repeat what happened with Jason." She hitched her breath, maybe to stop herself from losing herself to sobs again. "But then… if we don't do anything, we're letting T-Toby win, and we're letting ourselves ignore _what could have happened to Jason_."

Even in a state like that, how did Spencer manage to scavenge on such _brilliant_ concepts?

"I still don't believe it," Emily said. "I'm going to talk to—"

"You can try," scoffed Spencer. "But trust me, Em. I've done it all. And I've had my heart… _ripped_ to shreds by doing so… I... went _mad_ , and yet I let myself believe that he wasn't the one… I let myself believe that if I did, he'd come back, and it would be okay again. But in the end… the truth is the truth, no matter how ugly it is. Accept it while you can, Emily—he's the one who's wanted us dead since the very beginning." A pregnant pause passed as silence became a siren. "It's _him_."

* * *

It was late when Aria got home—they'd insisted on staying with Spencer until the whole shock died down, but Spencer seemed to broken to be fixed. Like broken china—the more you tried to fit the pieces in to make it complete again, someone—or something—would wind up hurt.

Aria collapsed onto her bed the moment she'd touched upon the door handle—her head hit the pillow, and her eyelids fluttered down, yet sleep _did not_ come to her. It was as if it was something of forbidden grounds, and resting wasn't in the rule book—technically, only paranoia, and guilt were written down. It all made sense. In one sick, twisted way.

Uncomfortably, Aria turned her head to her right, and stared into the bedside table, and her phone—maybe her eyes would start to turn red with some technicoloured, superficial power that shot lasers through atoms. Maybe they'd help her to stop with all the _freaking non-stop_ —

Her right eye twitched as her phone started to move slightly on the table. Had she done it? Was she now officially a witch?

She rolled her eyes inwardly (something she found her doing quite a lot, actually) as she saw that it was just the slight vibrations causing it to move itself across the surface. In a heave, Aria picked it up, her phone, didn't even so glance at who this person was, and unlocked it—false hope was never a good idea, but for some ridiculous reason, it was all she had. It was all she had, and it was probably all she'd ever have.

It wasn't Jason. But then again, if he'd been "ignoring" her for the past two days or so, then what more had she to hold on to? False hope went only so far.

 **This one's for you to solve: What if the apple was too red? What if the corset was too tight?  
 _What if the prince came to late?  
_ —A**

Knowing it was Toby did not do anything to ease her pounding heart—knowing it was Toby did nothing, in fact. It was just a reminder—a constant, constant one—of how they had failed again.

Aria had been staring so long she could see the different individual letters as she scanned the room—the silver prints, the green, the grey ones—it kept on making less and less sense (until it made up more than they'd ever know).

 _A… No,_ Toby's _just messing with us. Jason's okay. He's okay_.

Maybe it was like what happened with Dr Sullivan, almost a whole year back—maybe A… _it's Toby!_... took Jason as a punishment for lying, or whatever, only to return him once the game was, more or less, meeting its end. It was punishment, because Spencer had told Jason.

God, that was sick. Maybe he was the devil's spawn after all.

 _It's all your fault_ , thought Aria.

 _It's not. There is no "fault" to be appointed to, because for the last time, Jason. Is. FINE._

 _You should have kept him safe long, long ago. You should have had him un-tangled as soon as it began. It's all your fault, Aria. You started it._

Aria had to stop—her mind was going to explode. But maybe that was going to be only thing keeping her sane.

* * *

"You've sent it," Jason murmured—his voice had no emotion in it. And yet… and yet he was struck between feeling angry, not _just_ angry, but angry enough to… to _kill_ someone, and feeling utter guilt of doing this behind not just Aria's, but his _sister's_ , Emily's, _and_ Hanna's back, and whatever cause it was for, he could feel the cold blood on his hands, and he could _see_ their reactions—replaying, on their faces, over, and over again. Maybe this was how Toby felt… _if_ he really was doing this because he loved Spencer.

" _This one's for you to solve: What if the apple was too red? What if—_ "

"Okay," Jason said, gritting his teeth.

Mona rolled her eyes, and turned to Toby, who stood where he was, in that same secluded corner covered in strange pictures of dresses, resembling something of a toy soldier. "How hard was it for you?"

Finally noticing this was a direct question to him, Toby started to respond. "I… uh…"

"It hurts," Mona said, and turned back to Jason, that same smile strewn on. "doesn't it?"

"What do you want me to do?"

Mona made a loud breathing sound, and then sighed. "Well… now that the girls know all about Toby, and what he's been up to, we can only do one thing."

Right. Jason completely, one hundred percent, understood that.

Mona had a sixth sense—she smirked, and then picked up one of the dolls propped against the dollhouse. Jason almost didn't realise its resemblance to Spencer. "You know what they say. If one falls… they all fall."

Jason hitched his breath, and clenched his fists.

"It's easy, Jason," Mona said, smiling. "You will finally be able to get what you want, get your justice, and I'll finally be able to trust you. After all, pieces so valuable deserve to stay on the board, right?" Jason, once again, kept his mouth clamped shut, only watching Mona's shadow, as his eyes refused to meet her cold ones. "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy."

Talking to (well, more like _somewhat listening_ to) Mona was like playing a chess game itself—you could be totally unprepared for whatever she had to say, and you'd have to figure out the right thing to reply with, or else it would all go down, and as she said, the queen, or bishop, or _whatever_ would be slain.

Jason kept his patience in order. But it was wavering—and fast.

* * *

Aria was pacing around the room—her heart was beating faster than just fast, and she was positive she was on the brink of converting to major panic mode. In fact, she wondered why she hadn't already… with paranoia _this_ gut-clenching.

She picked up the phone, and called him again.

She didn't hang up when it went straight to voicemail, as expected—instead, she waited for the _beep_ sound, so she could record her message.

"Jason," she started off frailly, "…I don't know whether you will get this, but just…" She paused—where was this going? "I just need to know where you are… I don't know if you're hurt, or if A's got to you… or Wilden, or T-Toby, as _you_ now know. So…" She paused again. "If you get this message, if you can, no… you have to call me back."

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she felt her eyes glaze over with the fear of losing him. Of losing the one person in the entire world who she could fully trust. Because if she lost him… she didn't know what she would do.

 _Just be alive, okay?_

Aria swallowed. It hurt when she did so.

* * *

 _Aria was running—well, she had not a clue_ where _, but for some reason, that seemed to be the one thing she could do at the moment. Alison's house was still some labyrinth to her, and who would know if some minotaur creeped up from behind her, with its ginormous horns, and fangs, and… It was one of those feelings, when you_ felt _like there was something behind you (or on you, really—Aria should check for daddy-long-legs), and all you could do was_ get away from it, _whether it was something from dust, or a stupid mind-game. Aria didn't care—she was scared. So she was running._

 _Away._

 _And then—_

Bash.

 _She found the minotaur! Or who was the one who helped the hero (his name was like… Theseus… or Jason…?) out? Ariadne? That sounded about right… with the string._

 _"Careful there, babe," said someone._

 _"Uh…"_

 _Aria was gawping at the person she'd bumped it, as far as clichés played out, and with her mouth wide open, she knew she'd quite possibly made the worst impression anybody had ever before. Who was he again?_

 _"You must be Aria," he said, and still could she not fully acknowledge him. With such beautiful green eyes, and just a face_ like that _, she must have seen him somewhere before. Oh, wait… in her dreams. But also… around the house. From such an angle, she could really see the similarities between him, and—_

Oh!

 _"…You're my sister's friend," he carried on. "The funny one." He paused, looking at her a little… what was the word? Sheepishly. But Aria barely acknowledged this, too in awe with his face, and he bashfully carried on, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean… in a good way."_

 _"Uhuhuh," was all Aria could get out. "You're, um… her brother. Her… uh…?"_ Oh God, Aria, you're simply embarrassing yourself. _"A-Alison's, that's it. You're Jason—she—she—yeah." She ended lamely._

 _"Uhuhuh," he mimicked, causing her to blush. "I'm joking. Be careful, okay?"_

 _Aria didn't reply—she only watched as he left._

* * *

Aria groaned, and kicked at her bed.

* * *

Spencer was smarter than this, he knew that—he knew he wouldn't fall for this, and what he was about to would probably get him the _Worst Brother in History_ award. _Again_. But if this went the right way… if it turned out the way it was supposed to, then maybe Jason could re-win at least a little bit of trust, and maybe—and good lord, _hopefully_ —put an end to things. Jason knew that this was something he'd attempted to do for maybe forever, but this— _this_ —had to be _the_ end of it.

Spencer wouldn't fall for it. She was a Hastings. She was smart enough.

Bloody hell was his back hurting—aching—he was on the verge of crying out loud, but he kept his mouth shut, because there was what he promised Mona, and he wasn't going to screw _this_ up, above literally everything else he'd done so in the mess he called his life.

Maybe he'd have to get it amputated—if that was possible. See, he was going mad—but then again, he'd probably lost his mind the moment he'd found that note in his pocket. Or perhaps before… when he'd sucked himself into a world of drugs, and alcohol—

Or perhaps even before _that_.

 _Get it out of your freaking head, Jason. You don't have a brother—you never did._

"How long?" Jason muttered to Mona.

Mona didn't answer, but instead pulled out a rather intimidating needle (if that was what you could call it), and Jason could see the liquid—the mustardy yellow, that was getting closer, and closer…

And then he felt it go through his neck—that was the worst thing about injections. He remembered getting them as a child, each and every one of them—his mother dragging him to the wretched clinic, the stupid school _nurse_ who dragged him all over the school. It wasn't the pain that he dreaded, but the mere _thought_ of having a needle injected into flesh, into veins, leaving a trail of _mild_ , mild droplets of fatal diseases.

At least then he _knew_ what his body was consuming—for all he knew, Mona could have inserted… _don't think about it_.

"Sorry if you die," Mona said, and Jason couldn't see anything but black, and yet her voice was so loud, and clear. "I have no idea what this is, but it's what she gave me." She walked to the side—he could hear her footsteps, the same loudness; the same clearness. "Now… we just wait."

Was he in a coma? He could hear perfectly, and he could acknowledge each of his thoughts, and yet he couldn't move, and just couldn't… see.

For a moment he couldn't breathe—and then he could, but his head felt all the more heavier. Whatever it was, he wanted to ask, no, _shout_ , but

he

couldn't

move.

Mona was whispering again, and then it all stopped—he heard a faint _bustle bustle_ perhaps (if he could see), in the bushes behind them. Jason was basically paralysed. Nothing was painful, and yet it hurt more than anything he could possibly imagine.

It could be hours until he finally awoke. Days, even—weeks, months—until he was nothing but a few rotten bones. Whatever this… _she_ had given Mona to give him sounded nothing to be on the safe side. Would he die?

Jason waited a long time.

Or maybe it was over in two heartbeats.

He heard heavy footsteps, really, really heavy ones—ones that signified someone running, sprinting. He knew it all too well, and a surge of panic rose in him. Then the sound ceased, and he could swear someone had fallen—damn, was he already rotting? Had ants nestled in his ears? God, what if they were termites? He'd be gone, eaten, before he knew it.

And then there was a scream—one he knew all too well, too. One he…

 _Spencer!_

Jason wanted to shout, but he couldn't—and just as he realised that, Mona (perhaps, for he did not know exactly) started to speak. "He's dead."

Definitely Mona.

There was the running again—this time, much, much heavier than anything of before. Jason realised that this was guilt— _this_ —sure, he'd probably felt it on one too many occasions in all his life. But this—hearing Spencer scream, hearing her scream _because of him_ , it was like him watching Alison, even Aria, die. It was the same feeling, it was—a final confirmation of the fact that he had lost. He had given up. Completely. He was helpless.

Yes, it all felt hauntingly familiar.

* * *

Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing—what, did Rosewood strive to become the creepiest, sadistic town in all of America? How many murders would it be until the next "Ali"? Not that Aria had much against Hanna's mum—what people had to do, they had to do. Aria knew that only from experience (and countless fails).

The reason why Hanna was late to Spencer's house was because her mother could have almost… just a tiny but… killed Wilden.

Not that she was complaining. Much. But it was still a big deal, because you can't always get away with murder—that was the seat only reserved for A. Correction: _Toby_. Plus Mona. Possibly.

Hanna bit her lip as she spilled it all out—Aria only watched in awe. Well, perhaps not awe, but complete _what the hell?_

"…If it was so dark," Aria started, still in utter shock. "And if Toby was at Spencer's house when your mum… did it, then maybe it wasn't A at all. Plus, Mona was at that decathlon thingy in New York, and she's the only one left on the list. So, maybe the tape of—"

"I hit that black box like… a hundred times, and it didn't even crack," Hanna exclaimed. "The video just kept playing over, and over…" She paused. "If it isn't A, then who else would want to torture me with my mum… maybe killing Wilden?"

"How long was it playing for?"

"T-two minu—" Hanna shook her head. "What I'm saying is, someone knows about my mum, and what she did, and… and _I don't know what to do_! You go to prison for that thing! For killing a cop… detective, whatever!"

"You go to prison for killing a person in the first place," pointed out Aria.

"Not helping!" Hanna said. She pointed at his car in her garage—the lights were still flashing from blue to red, to blue again. "Why would Wilden—A—put his car in there? In our freaking garage? If he's dead, he should be a corpse—Toby may have been at Spencer's, and Mona in NY, but whatever, _it has to be A_!"

"But if—"

Aria stopped talking as Hanna pulled her into the car, driving away somewhere—Aria kept silent, until the car had stopped, about twelve minutes later. They were by the lake. Why were they by the lake?

"Follow me," Hanna said, and Aria complied, still terribly confused, though.

She was pushing the car—why was she doing this? Aria had no time to question, however, for Hanna pulled her arm again, whispering urgently, "Push!"

Aria shook her head—"I really don't think this is a good idea."

Hanna ignored her, and said, "Just keep pushing."

Aria shook her head more vehemently, and stopped altogether, causing Hanna to look up, and stamp her feet impatiently. "There's got to be a better solution!"

"Well, there isn't!" Hanna said, and immediately went back to pushing.

"I'm serious, Hanna," said Aria. "We really, really—"

The car fell in a _splash_ , and Aria and Hanna were only left to stare down at what they had done. Cars had never sunk any slower than this, and the fact that she knew scared her almost half to death.

Then, it was gone.

* * *

From one place to another, Aria should reconsider if she is human at all—after all, she had the paranoia of probably an inhuman being, and now, apparently she teleports. Not a second after Wilden's car was (finally) disappeared under musky green water, she and Hanna ended up at Emily's.

"Don't kill me," was the first thing Emily said when Hanna and Aria reached her room—she looked rather shaken up, Emily, and she was holding a beige envelope, her face ghastly pale. Aria wondered what this was about—was it somehow connected to Jason? Why was she thinking about him again? Oh yeah, because he might be dead— _STOP IT, Aria_.

"More like, don't kill _me_ ," Hanna uttered.

"What is it, Em?" Aria asked.

Emily ignored it, and looked at Hanna's clothes—"Why are you all wet?" She turned to Aria, who stiffened under her gaze. "Okay, Aria, what did Hanna do now?"

"Look, you don't understand," said Hanna quickly. "If I hadn't have done it, my mum could be in jail, right now. But she isn't, which is good, and I don't want it to happen, and if his car is well under the waves, the whole electricity circuit thing won't work—"

Emily widened her eyes. "You— _what_?"

"Long story," Hanna said. "Uh—my mom might have killed Wilden—A finds out—I hide—I find his car in my garage—I call Aria—she comes—I drive to the lake—I sort of dump his car in it."

Emily widened her eyes even more, and then turned to Aria. "You're meant to _stop_ her from doing crazy, stupid things like this!"

"I'm sorry!" Aria said, throwing her hands up. "What's the reason why you want us here, anyway?"

Emily let out a heavy sigh, and in front of them produced the same envelope she was holding—she took whatever it was out, and placed it upon the bed. Aria squinted.

 **Toby is no more.**

It was a funeral program…

Was… was Toby _dead_?

And of course, managing to wind its way into her frozen mind again—did this have anything to do with Jason? It couldn't just be a coincidence, could it? Jason and Toby "disappearing" at the same time, both having something to do with A, or just being A itself.

And on top of all of that—where was Spencer in a situation like this, with her boyfriend, _and_ her brother disappearing from the face of the earth? Did she have something to do with this, too? Had she something to hide from them?

Only time would tell, she guessed.

* * *

 **Wow, such a dramatic ending lmao. Gah, I'm hoping to update soon… I will try. No promises, though. Next chapter will probably be just like this… where's Jason? Lol.**

 **Okay, so I recently made (another) tumblr, seeing as I'm amazing at remembering my email. When I'm not updating, I'm probably (most definitely) going to be on there, so find me hehehehe ( _ohhcrackships_ ). I mostly reblog things that makes me squeal, as well a of Jaria, and Drew Van Acker… and a handful of my other OTPs. I make the occasional gif :) Oh, and I also try to vid regularly, so find me on yt, too ( _aliimagic_ ) :) **


	33. Even Though I Try Not To

**So.. long time no see :D**

 **Btw im not even sure where I am in the timeline, it's all higgeldy piggeldy lol idek but I tried**

* * *

 **even though i try not to**

* * *

 _stay with me a little longer  
i will wait for you  
shadows creep, and want grows stronger_  
 _deeper than the truth_  
— **_ruelle_**

* * *

It was sometime in the middle of nothing when Aria realised what a whirlpool her whole was. Sure, she'd noticed it before, but never like this. Not in a _time_ like this. (Not when her best friend was deemed missing and that best friend's boyfriend was perhaps the genesis and not especially when her boyfriend was as good as dead.) So there are many things gone wrong in Aria's seventeen years but this was really the last thing she'd have thought at fifty shades of naivety and a small dazzling smile unmatched with worn-out hazel eyes and pink streaks and a broken home. It was still broken, perhaps it always would be, but not in a way like this.

Not when Aria had given everything she had to love; to care; to ignore. Not when A was in out of (his, her, their) way to make their lives a misery from the past or whatever—and Jason still somewhere, _somewhere,_ she begs, alive, and safe and remembering. Remembering her, Ali, Spence, everyone.

And Aria was so ready for this to be over (although it would take a long time, Aria knew, things didn't get better overnight, it wasn't a broken bone). This was too big of a mess to just be okay one day, it had been a built up, lost trust, wasted youths. They wouldn't be okay until it really was all blown over. Aria didn't see a happy ending coming anytime soon. Stuck on that one page where it all goes wrong.

Her life was a mess and a whirlpool and a stupid dead-end. She wouldn't even be exaggerating. Because that was what it was. What it would be.

There were many words Aria could describe this environs, but of course she didn't have the knowledge. What with the searing fear of a text message or a voicemail or a letter through their front door, knowing all too well it _couldn't_ be normal. Knowing there was always going to be that possibility of a new death around the corner, cryptic letters and blood-stained blackmailing. What with having no time for essays and assignments when all they'd really done these past two academic years was hunt down this _A_ and try not to get killed every overturn. So Aria had to stay true to the words she knew, because that was all that was there and Aria couldn't relive the years, not that, if it was anything like what she'd experienced before, she'd ever really want to anyway.

And now Spencer, prim, prissy Spencer, was missing. Just like that. Here one moment, then _poof_. Magic.

Except this wasn't Hogwarts. No Apparate here, or Apparate there. Magic didn't exist.

What did, though, was the realisation that scared Aria more than anything. Sure, Spencer had been a little on edge ever since the breakup with her and, um, _Toby_ (A was for the time being ruled taboo, Aria declared, it was already getting too much for all of them)—and even before that she'd well, _they'd_ , wavered on _losing their minds_ because of all the same reason. The bitter truth is always better than a sweet lie, and they'd have both struck at the same time. And Aria didn't blame Spencer, not one bit, if she'd run and took off as far as she possibly could, after all, being the only method to madness they knew. If Aria wasn't so caught up in this she'd run off, too, positively. But there were the things that pulled her back, each and every time.

 _Him_. Well, it wasn't _just_ Jason, but he played a pretty huge part. He was the one person she needed most right now—all she wanted to do was to, what, _talk_ to him, and she needed— _needed_ —him to let her fall into his arms and she just had to hear his voice again—slow and steady and the words she hadn't heard in too long.

She just really fucking missed him, yeah? And to know that she didn't know broke her. What kind of a girlfriend was she?

"...Is Toby dead?"

The word "dead" was never a good thing, not incorporated in this mess, especially. Dazed and still a little confused she turned back to her friends, and whatever they were on about. This was the time to listen, but her mind was walking away again. _STOP THIS, ARIA_. _Fucking_ control _yourself_.

Emily said, "Maybe he just wants us to think that he's dead."

Aria opened her mouth because for a second there was something she needed to say.

But then that second turned into two and there, right there, she'd lost it. So her mouth agape and eyes widened, with weird looks and small coughs Aria stood like that. She didn't even blink. She was paralysed, almost, and she didn't know why. If Aria spoke her thoughts she'd hurt a lot of people, and those "people" would mostly be her.

"Either way, Spencer needs to know about this," sighed Hanna. "Ari?"

"Hm?" Aria mumbled. "Yeah." Aria looked around pointedly—and still no Spencer Hastings, not that she didn't already know. She wanted to scream her name and call her out and tell her that there were still people who _needed_ her; that if only they had each other, things would be okay. Aria wanted to say something more, _something_ that, she didn't know, could help them and anything that didn't make Aria feel like a useless pile of shit, which was all she was being right now. "She isn't here, still," Aria frowned, stating the obvious only confirmed all the above but she'd said it—something. And blueprints were piling and Aria's hope was fading but it was all they had. For the time being.

"Do you think Spencer just didn't get your SOS?" asked Hanna, to Emily.

"Maybe," shrugged Emily. "But she must have gotten one of the other twelve messages we sent, too."

"Okay, you guys," Aria said. "She has ditched school before. We all have."

"But this is..."

Emily didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have to. And if Spencer had taken off running, what was the point? Aria, for one, couldn't see one.

They didn't say anymore. The silence was enough. Until:

"Girls, good, you're all together."

Aria's attention was drawn, as Mr Hackett came along, _Melissa_ at his side—and she looked so frightfully drained, her face a ghostly pale and makeup-less and everything that it shouldn't be. Aria had never seen her like this before. She was sure of that. (But we all know how _that_ goes.)

Melissa was like an alarm clock—she girls, they could _hear_ her ticking, her pulse, her stress, the paranoia so vibrant, and so _loud_ , and yet it was like that one thing pulling her back. An alarm clock, but not quite. And at the thought of Aria comparing Spencer's sister to an alarm clock made her shudder, and she decided to take a step back. Notwithstanding the look on the elder brunette's face, no one seemed to move. No one seemed to want to. Once again, Aria was one.

Hackett broke the silence. "I think you know Spencer's sister, Melissa," he mumbled, clearing his throat. _All too well_ , Aria thought to herself, _but then again... not well at all. What's her middle name? When did she have her first kiss?_ Aria felt even more creeped out by her own assumptions, she once again opted to let Melissa do all the talking. And Emily, because she seemed to know what she was getting herself into. Hanna, too... well, a little more than Aria, at least.

Melissa frowned, and turned to them. "Have you seen Spencer?" The nervous tone. "Have you talked to her?" And for some reason she felt like Melissa was asking _her_ , only Aria.

Aria felt like drowning. Her eyes. _Her eyes_. (She almost couldn't breathe.) Everyone was staring at her, from Hackett, to Melissa herself, then those daggers from Hanna, and Emily ( _it's all on you, Ari_ ), and she could feel... she could feel everyone else's eyes on her. Perhaps even Spencer. She was perched on the rooftops, and she was looking down, glaring at the lot of them. Aria almost let herself believe it, how sad was it, lying to yourself?

Hanna answered for her. Short. Concise. As if it were rehearsed.

"I-is something wrong?" Emily stammered.

"Spencer didn't come home last night."

 _Spencer didn't come last night_.

Aria sighed. Aria swallowed.

 _I can't I can't I can't Ican'tcan'tcan'tI -_ what do I do _?_

"She's not answering her phone," Melissa carried on. "I - I - was hoping she was here with you..." Pause - the girls bit on their lips - God, Melissa was slightly scary, even - especially - in times like these. This. A time like this. "...Which is why I came here, before I went to the police," Melissa said, not much caution in her voice at all.

Sirens. Flashing lights. The thought had never _frightened_ Aria more. Rosewood ran with corrupters - cops, detectives, left, and right, back and forth. What would happen if they _did_ have to resort to calling the police?

Emily swallowed. "P-police?" Aria hitched her breath, and she could feel the clamminess of Hanna's perfect little hands - except with chipped nail varnish, and with Aria's ever-running physic-ness (or whatever, it was _something_ ), she could tell that this was not the only thing that was worrying her best friend. Aria looked over at Emily, equal signs of queasiness strewn on her face - it was painfully obvious, but coming to think about it... so was the solution of this whole _situation_ , wasn't it?

* * *

Aria tried not to think about Spencer.

Aria tried not to think about Jason.

Aria tried not to think about A.

But it was a bloody circle, wasn't it? Always would be, and it would be the death of her, she could swear it. It always had been one, ever since the day Ali disappeared. Of course, everything evolved around Alison, she'd _made_ them - her - after all, the leader, the lion, the puppeteer. Even after death everything was Ali, and Aria was pretty sure it wouldn't _ever_ stop.

Aria paused herself and turned to the clock (was that even the time?) - she'd been doing nothing while everyone else was getting clawed and maybe even killed (but she was _hopeless_ in situations like these). She had no clue what was going on in her life (as ever), and what would go on in her life, and what _had_. Past, present future - nope.

She'd just about lifted two feet off the ground when she'd been unwillingly matched with the probably all too familiar chime bell of her phone. Her day was shitty enough, thank you very much. But Aria has the curiosity of a -

 **Spencer's okay.**

Emily.

Perhaps there should have been some huge weight lifted off her shoulders but she shivered nonetheless. Spencer wasn't dead, nor injured. She was okay. She was okay.

Spencer was okay.

She was okay she was okay _she was okay she was okayshewasokay_ -

God, how long would it be until she could actually believe something - her best friends, _herself_. Because now... what _was_ there to believe, anyway? Believing was deceiving, cliche number one in every good girl's handbook. Except they weren't good girls anymore. They were liars. Liars weren't ever good.

Then came chime number two, perhaps this time it was something a little less cryptic, something that actually did let the weights drop.

It was a picture. (None the more reassuring, in fact.) It wasn't from Emily, but that was okay. It could be Hanna, or Mike, or tens of others in her address book. Things were damaged already, nothing could be worse than -

Of course, Aria and her big mouth. Although she hadn't said anything at all.

The thing about A was that no matter how far it tore them, it would only be them drawing themselves in closer to the fire than ever, because that was simply its purpose. To trick them, lure them in, and it was always going to be a trap, but then again there was that _something_ in all of their chests that just about convinced them it wasn't. This was no exception.

Aria could barely make out the subject of the photo, it was pixelated enough without the terrible contrast. But there it was, just about - and Aria's eyesight wasn't shitty enough not to make out the slightly reddish hair and the _tiny_ visible lights in some headlights, or something. And then a little to this woman's left was some dude in a suit that reminded Aria of someone who didn't. And Aria'd never make herself out to be _good_ at the whole codebreaking (she guessed that was Spencer's job), but it was maybe seconds more and she realised that the woman was Hanna's mum, and the guy was Wilden - _Detective Wilden_ , _Hanna's mum_. Two and two make four, right?

* * *

"Hey," Emily almost whispered when Aria arrived. It was unnaturally quiet, and things were awkward - Hanna wasn't here yet. Emily's hands were trembling, Aria could see, and so were hers. This was strange for the both of them. _Small talk, Aria_ , she thought to herself - except Aria had never been good at either, so that would only make matters worse, and to be honest that was the last thing both of them needed. So Aria gave a little nod of her head and a small weakish smile and they both worried silently together.

Minutes later came Hanna, strewn with the same expressions Aria and Emily had. This wasn't play pretend, this was _real_. It was happening - it was happening to Spencer -to them. No, it wasn't a lie. No, it wasn't the truth, either.

"So talk," Hanna said, and her voice quivered, her eyebrows twitched.

"So Dr Sullivan left a message," Emily started proactively.

"What does _she_ got to do with Spencer?"

"She was the one who found her," Emily carried on. "in the woods."

Hanna gaped at her best friend. "That's what she said?"

"That's what she said," nodded Em. "She got checked into Radley, and only family are able to see her, as of now."

There was a little silence (just a little, because saying there was a "lot" was contradictory in a time like this).

Aria took a long, heaving breath. "Holy shit. This... God." There were many more words Aria had that could define what she was feeling, but she herself had no clue what she was, and what she was getting herself - and everyone else - into. They all had a piece to blame, but it was all on Aria, right? She was the liar, she was the one who got everything so tangled up and messy. She was the one who knew where Ali had gone. She was the one who could have stopped her. She was awake and watched her leave, all devastation following behind and Aria did _nothing_. (Not that anyone needed to know. Lying came naturally, no matter how bad at it she was.)

Aria couldn't do anything but keep it all to herself. It was obviously always better that way, if all she really brought was chaos. Wasn't she just destroying everything she touched?

(So the last thing on her mind _was_ that picture, because it was just a picture, and no, it didn't paint a thousand words, and no, it couldn't have _meant_ anything.)

She was sure they had had enough trouble for a lifetime. ...But it wasn't going to end anytime soon.

* * *

Naivety only went so far.

Aria guessed it ended when she found the note on the way home (where even _was_ that anymore?). It wasn't even a proper note, Aria guessed. Not with much thought, anyway, although Aria should have known, really. She'd sort of ruined everything, hadn't she? And so what more to expect than a closed door and a few words that probably meant nothing to her. Or him. Either or.

So maybe she'd look back in twenty, thirty years and she'd laugh at the little girl who felt too much and kept too much and destroyed too much. It was just a guy, just a stupid guy, like in those high school TV shows who never really stayed. It was for the thrill of it all, really. And it would sting a bit, wet tissues and vanilla ice cream - Hanna had been through it before, Spencer, Emily, Ali even, they all had, equally as much. So it would be that, just like that. End of story. And in the end, it would get better, because Aria refused to believe if anything her life was a tragedy.

But he wasn't _just_ a guy.

* * *

 **This ends so randomly omg srry but I really wanted this up so I kinda cut this chapter in half. I'm hoping the next update will be sometime at the end of this week, and I'm sorry about the end^^ I lost a lot of inspiration. So yep, idk what is happening at the moment, bleh, we can ignore this later haha. also no jaria he will be in next chapter, I PROMISEEEEE**

* * *

 **(Skip if you want because this is gonna be one hell of a long A/N x'D** **)**

 **oKAY, so it's been, what, almost half a year since my last update? Smh. I wasn't planning on taking such a huge hiatus, but I really lost the flow of this chapter (I don't think I've quite grasped onto it yet, either), but I do somewhat know what's going to happennn. My target is to really get my shit together with this story in the half term, and although I'm not sure, there might be a mini time jump in coming chapters, because I don't even know anymore x'D by mini I mean super mini, like only two weeks or so (because like I swear Season 4 was about three weeks irl).**

 **So anyway, here's to the unimportant shit that you guys can ignore. The reason for my absence umm... so I kinda got _reeallly_ into something I was just, I don't know, sometimes doing beforehand. Ahem, the deep dark world of vidding. I started vidding around August 2015, and posted occasionally until about May (the last proper update from me haha x'D), when I just kapeesh started excessively doing so. So I was obsessed with joining collabs, making collabs, collab groups, and that ate pretty much all of my time, as well as homework and school shit that I probably should have prioritised. I still make videos (like a lot), but I've decided to.. let myself drift away from all of that, and I've set a goal to stop joining any collabs (idk how far that's gonna go but), and hopefully quieten down and start updating. This is probably my favourite story to update, I always have these random ideas (that I'm never able to put down in words) that pop every now and again, and I love these two soo much. I really want to finish this story, whether it's done (most definitely) after this show ends, and to do that I really need to get my act together haha. **

**Thank you all already though, you guys mean a lot to me:) There are a lot of people favourit-ing and following this story, something that's a lot more than I'd ever anticipated lol so thank you again, you give me so much motivation:)**


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